


Feather and Gear

by HippolytaGale



Category: RWBY
Genre: Angst, F/M, Friendship, Polyamory, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-31
Updated: 2015-05-31
Packaged: 2018-04-02 03:20:23
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 14
Words: 24,754
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4043926
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HippolytaGale/pseuds/HippolytaGale
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Summer would do anything for her partner, and he would do anything for her--fight, flee, kill...or love.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hello again! The inspiration for this piece came from a weird theory I had about Ruby and Yang being cousins rather than siblings--you can read it on my Tumblr here (http://hippolytagale.tumblr.com/post/101691633981/okay-this-is-weird-but-i-have-a-theory-about).
> 
> My little theory inspired me to write a full story, which became much longer than I had originally intended. Of course, we haven't seen any of these characters fleshed out yet in RWBY, so I've tried to match them to canon as best as I could, and let my imagination take me from there. It's a bit clumsy, but I hope you enjoy it!

They were Team TRQS now—minted fresh as a unit that first morning at Beacon, trial overcame, partners connected by pure chance, and Summer Rose was a little furious about it. 

She wasn’t angry about who she had ended up with as a partner; that had gone better than expected. Qrow Branwen was in the middle of decapitating a Beowolf when Summer had stumbled upon him in the forest, and out of all the possible people she could have run into, he was perhaps the most capable. Well, the most capable other than Taiyang Xiao Long, whom she saw fly deep into the trees and out of her reach—she gave up hope of finding him first as she saw others follow with almost equal speed. That was what made her angry: missing out on him, the what-could-have-been aspect of it.

It would’ve been glorious to have Taiyang for a partner. The day before she had watched him practice his combat forms in the training room, and he had stunned her with his speed, agility, and focus. She was fascinated in particular by the flashiness of his twirling machetes, and the way the weapons spat hot flares of Dust from the crystals hidden within their pommels. It was the first time Summer had seen Dust-based weaponry up close—her own weapon, Thorn, was mechanical only, from the foot-long spear head to the assault rifle embedded into different sections of the haft. It had taken her over a year to figure out how the pieces would configure from the spear into the machine gun mode and build a working model by herself, but lacing a weapon with Dust seemed even more daunting. Using crystals made the metallurgy and smithing processes of crafting difficult; unless Taiyang had a skilled mentor guiding him through the project, he must’ve made dozens of failures before creating such a simple, yet elegant weapon. Because of that, he earned Summer’s respect as a craftsman in an instant.

And on top of that, he was gorgeous. Taiyang had caught her sight from across the crowded auditorium (along with the gaze of everyone else) because, in truth, whom in their right mind could overlook that powerful build or booming voice? And his hair, of course, that made him stand out as much as anything—it was the same color of a candle flame spun into thread, collected into a thick, wavy hairstyle carefully pushed back from cool violet eyes. It was neither messy nor neat, and the sudden, urgent need to push her fingers through it caught Summer off-guard. Female students (and a few of the boys, to her surprise) flocked to his side in an instant. Without a doubt, he was the one to watch among the Beacon first-years, and Team TRQS got to have him as their leader. It was a shame he wasn’t her partner as well.

But even though she mourned losing the chance to partner with Taiyang, Qrow was a good alternative. He was a quick fighter, and that enormous scythe he carried cleaved through Grimm flesh like a butcher knife through flour, swift and effortless. Summer wouldn’t have expected that, given his tall, slender frame and the weapon’s weight, but he knew how to conduct himself in battle well. He was quiet outside of combat, soft-spoken, listening and observing everyone else during the mission and since they got back. When the two of them had met Taiyang and Qrow’s twin sister Raven in the woods, he let his sibling do most of the talking, and since their triumphant return had only smiled at Summer. She didn’t mind, though. She rather liked that smile.  
She wished she could like the girl that shared it. So far, Raven had disregarded her. After their formal introduction as a team, they made their way to their assigned dorm room. Taiyang threw open the door, a huge military-style duffel balanced on his thick shoulder. He gave a broad smile and hollered, 

“Home sweet home!”

He hurled the duffel onto one of the beds, then opened the window to circulate the still-warm autumn air. The Branwen twins followed him, Qrow weighed down by many black bags and suitcases; Summer kept waiting for Raven to take the one dangling from Qrow’s thumb and index finger, but she never did. She was too occupied by her silent evaluation of which bed she wanted. Before he lost his grip on the case, Summer reached out and relieved him of it. He looked over in surprise.

“Here, let me take that one too,” She said, grabbing the largest bag looped over one wrist. 

“Thank you,” He murmured. She shrugged.

“No problem.” She set the bags down on the bed beside Taiyang’s, and selected the bed by the bathroom for herself.

“The lighting in this place is terrible,” Raven said to her brother, “We’d better get another desk lamp.”

“I’ll make that my first duty then. As your leader, I can’t have my team straining their eyes while they study.” Taiyang said.

“Laying the devotion on a little thick this early, aren’t we?” 

“Raven, I think you’ll find I’m this dedicated all the time.” He pushed a hand through his hair. “I’m always invested in the comfort of my teammates.” 

She rolled her eyes.

“Qrow, I’m going to the commissary. Have this unpacked by the time I get back.”

“I’ll go with you! I need to buy some things.” Taiyang added. Side by side, the two left the room, leaving Summer alone with her new partner.

Qrow laid out all the bags and began to put things away with an air of diligent routine. He unrolled many pieces of clothing (so much black and red) and folded them into drawers and the closet Raven and Taiyang would share, hanging them tightly together to save space. He shook out a large bag of cosmetics and arranged them on the bathroom vanity, placing an ivory-handled hairbrush next to them. Summer couldn’t imagine how all those products could be for one person’s face. She looked at her own bathroom items—a stiff bristled brush, her toothbrush, a simple razor, and a bottle of face wash—and wondered if she had missed out on some checklist of how to properly be female. She must have, because Raven was the paragon of femininity.

Raven couldn’t be more different than her younger brother, in looks or in personality: unlike her twin’s unruly mop of stiff, inky hair, hers spilled in soft, voluptuous waves over her shoulders, deep crimson ombre buried within black tones. Like Taiyang, she couldn’t help but stand out; if Summer was a boy, Raven would take her breath away. She was strong and grounded, relaxed the way a large cat is after finishing a hunt, and about as oblivious to others’ feelings; during their time in the forest, she had ignored Summer most of the time, as a panther would ignore a mouse, and ordered Qrow around like he was her lackey. Even though they had just partnered up, it raised Summer’s hackles a bit to see Raven treat him like that. Qrow’s sister may be the best fighter on their team (death in a flick of that wrist), but that didn’t mean she could push him around. She would say something next time, she decided. She still wished Raven wasn’t on their team at all, though; something about her made Summer uneasy.

The loud zipper of the Branwens’ last duffel bag snapped her out of her thoughts. Qrow was not quick about his work now, instead laying items on his bed and continuing to unpack. As she watched, Summer realized that this was the only bag of items that belonged to him; the black-and-gray clothes, the rumpled sweatpants, the razor, toothbrush, and black plastic comb, the extra pair of worn jackboots—he had the same amount of things from home as she did. That cheered her up right away.

“Your sister has a lot of stuff, huh?” His mouth quirked.

“Yes.”

“It’s nice of you to put all that away for her.”

“It’s expected.” He said, and went quiet.

Well. Guess she knew how that relationship was then. She stood up and began to hang her shirts in the closet. 

“Where did you learn to fight like that?” She asked. “When I was at Sanctum, I’d never even heard of someone actually using a scythe. I thought they were too heavy for most people.”

“Raven and I trained under our aunt before we went to combat school. She taught us to complement each other in battle, so I learned to carry the weight from an early age: Raven is fast, but my hits are harder.”

“Yeah, you nailed that Ursa right in the eye.”

“That actually wasn’t where I had shot,” He admitted, a sheepish grin on his face. “The aiming module on the sniper rifle hasn’t been functioning correctly.”

“Oh, I can fix that! Tinkering’s kind of my thing.” She reached into the side pocket of her rucksack and pulled out her tool kit. “I can adjust about anything with these.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

“So, did you always plan to go to Beacon?”

When Summer asked that question, she hadn’t expected it to create an awkward silence. Qrow’s brows furrowed, his mouth open and unsure of what to say. He looked at the floor, then the ceiling, scratching at his scalp. He took a breath to speak, but paused, uncertain again. She waved her hands.

“Uh, it’s not a big deal if you don’t want to answer that.” 

“No, I…I guess I can say that we planned to go to Haven, but Mother thought it’d be best to attend somewhere away from where we grew up.” 

“How come?” He shook his head.

“It’s a private matter. That’s all I can say. Sorry.”

“No, of course. I understand.”

So, her partner had some sore spots. Or his family did, and he respecting their privacy; she’d have to be careful around that line of inquiry next time. All her tops hung in the closet, she began to fold her jeans and trousers to fit onto the shelves above the rack. She called to him over her shoulder.

“Qrow, when I’m done here, would you like to come to dinner with me?”

“…Just me?”

“Is that strange?”

“Yes.” She laughed.

“It’s not weird! We’re partners! Besides, I’m starving already and who knows when Taiyang and your sister will get back.”

“…I would love to.” He said. She put the last pair of pants on the shelf, then walked over to him. She picked up his hand from his knee (he was startled, the way a puppy can be) and pulled him to his feet, linking their elbows together. He smiled shyly, and they walked arm-in-arm to the cafeteria.


	2. Chapter 2

Raven and Summer were at each other’s throats by the end of the week. The delicate balance of Qrow’s world was upended, the natural dominance of his twin challenged now at every turn; he would be thrilled, if he wasn’t half-terrified. 

It had started the day after they all moved into the dorm room together. That morning, when the team was packing their books for class, Raven had done what she had always done before and stacked her things on top of Qrow’s. The textbook for Procedures and Regulations was as thick as a dictionary and hard to balance, but he hadn’t thought much of it. He struggled to hang on to both books and the notepads and the pens like usual, before Summer stopped him and called for his sister.

“What?” Raven asked.

“Aren’t these yours? You’re not carrying anything and that’s a big load for anyone to handle.”

“Qrow’s used to it.”

“Maybe you—”

Raven swept her hair over her shoulder and walked away. Summer’s mouth dropped open. She blinked, looked at Qrow, and looked at Raven’s retreating back. She blinked again.

“Does that always happen?”

“Yes. I’m sorry.”

“Here.” 

She took Raven’s textbook from him and placed into her messenger bag, removing assorted notebooks to make room. She slouched off-kilter with the weight of the book now at her side. She straightened, gave him a reassuring smile, and took his arm to walk to class.

Soon Summer figured out that politeness and courtesy were not appeals that worked on Raven. Every time she tried, his sister would roll her eyes or walk away as before, leaving his partner more and more frustrated. By the end of the week he could tell it was getting to her; her lips were clamped and her brows knitted whenever Raven ignored her. The tension between them was palpable.

“I appreciate you trying to stick up for me, Summer, but it’s really okay. I’m used to it.”

“I don’t like how she treats you, Qrow. And I hate how she looks at me like I’m invisible!”

“She takes a long time to warm up to people.”

“She’s been your twin your entire life, and she’s still mean to you. I don’t think my chances are good.”

Summer was a sweet person. Ever since that first day they had been attached to each other at the hip—she would make plans to go somewhere, pinch his sleeve and say “Won’t you join me?” And he would, like her shadow. 

Unlike Raven, Summer wanted him to be with her all the time. Part of him thought she was lonely, in her own secret way; though she was kind, people didn’t really take notice of her. She wasn’t shy and got along with others well, but she didn’t stand out to the other teams either, so she was always sticking to her teammates. Qrow didn’t mind at all. He was happy to be paired with someone so interested in his well-being, because the way Summer cared about others was like a heartbeat: effortless and unnoticed, but deeply needed to survive. After a few days of being together, it was hard to remember what it was like dealing with Raven’s behavior without Summer’s hand on his shoulder, the concerned lift of her eyebrows, or her soft voice asking “You okay?” It made the contrast between Summer and his twin that much clearer.

Qrow never thought his sister was mean to him before, not really. They had always been this way—she led, he followed. She was outspoken and bold, he was quiet and supportive. Sure, she had teased him when they were younger: in fourth grade she had charmed away the only boy that wanted to be his friend for herself, and sometimes she liked to annoy him, but any sibling would do that. Qrow had never thought her behavior was cruel. Teasing, yes, but never cruel. If anything, she had become more distant in the last few months, ever since…Ever since what happened back home, before they came to Beacon. It changed her. He felt the sharp edge of her pain lashing out at him every so often.

Like today.

Taiyang wanted the team to spar together three times a week outside of classes. He and Summer had already concluded their match, and Raven had fought each of them in turn before demanding she finish off with her brother. She was volatile this afternoon, her strikes powerful and unfocused, the katana clenched with white knuckles. Qrow’s aura was nearly drained. They had been fighting for at least ten minutes, and that was a long time to endure her fury. 

“Come on! You know how to control distance between you and your opponent!” She yelled.

Raven charged her blade with Dust and slashed a few fiery crescents in his direction. After he dodged she was right on top of him, the unsharpened back curve of her sword clanging against the steel haft of his scythe so fast he could barely keep up, prying his guard open so she could find a weak spot. It didn’t take long. After another wide sweep, she closed the distance between them and drove her foot into the side of his knee. He cried out in pain. She smashed the pommel into his cheek, sending him reeling to the ground. His weapon clattered beside him. She huffed in frustration.

“Step it up, Qrow! This is pathetic!”

“That’s enough for today.” Taiyang said, a hard note in his voice.

Raven yanked on Qrow’s collar.

“Get up.” His knee stung as he tried to rise, collapsing him once again. She pulled harder at him, annoyed to the point of anger. “C’mon, get up!”

“Raven, stop! That’s an order!”

His sister pulled him roughly to his knees. She reached for his weapon.

“We’re doing this until you get it right.” She growled.

And then Summer tackled her. Qrow never saw it coming. The petite girl charged her shoulder into his twin sister’s stomach, and the two of them bowled over onto the floor. Summer twisted Raven’s sword arm into a lock, the other woman struggling to break free, but it was too late. Summer had maneuvered her into a triangle choke. She held Raven’s head sandwiched between her bicep and Raven’s lifted arm, like a strange embrace, while Raven’s free fist punched weakly at her back. Summer leaned down and whispered into the other girl’s ear, her face twisted in rage. What was she saying?

_“Enough!”_ Taiyang roared. 

Their leader pulled the two women apart. Raven gasped for air.

“What’s wrong with you!?” He shouted.

“He’s weak.” Raven said. “He’s going to get killed out there.”

“He’s going to get killed in here, the way you’re going at him! And you!” He turned to Summer, appalled. “I expected this from Raven, but not from you!”

“I—”

“We don’t use chokeholds in practice! You could’ve seriously hurt her! I don’t care if you don’t like each other, you need to be able to work together without fighting. We’re a team, and you’re going to start acting like one!”

“At least she had the balls to do something, oh fearless _leader_.” Raven spat. “I can’t believe I’m stuck with you.” She picked up her sword, sheathing it in a fury. “This is a waste of time. Qrow doesn’t need either of you babying him, and I’m not going to lower my standards to meet your level of mediocrity.” She spun on her heel and stormed out of the room.

“Raven!” Taiyang shouted. 

“Let her go,” Summer said. “Qrow’s hurt.”

“I can’t. I’m going after her. Please, take care of him—I need to make sure she’s under control.”

Taiyang sprinted out the door, leaving Qrow and his partner alone. Summer knelt beside him. She touched his shoulder.

“Don’t move, I’m going to grab the first aid kit.”

Qrow’s knee was swollen and he had no doubt his cheekbone was bruised, but his exhaustion weighed on him more than his injuries. If only his aura was at full strength, he would be able to fix himself up. Summer pressed a wet compress to his face and he winced.

“Sorry,” She said. Her face turned dark. “I can’t believe she did this to you.”

“She’s not wrong. I shouldn’t have been open like that.”

“That doesn’t matter! She doesn’t have the right to hurt you.”

She rolled his pant leg up and wrapped a cloth around his knee before pressing an ice pack to it. She began to unroll gauze around it to hold it in place. Qrow watched her work; a piece of hair fell over her ear, and without thinking he pinched it between two fingers and put it back into place. She froze for a moment, her eyes quick with momentary surprise. The barest hint of a blush rose in her cheeks.

_—Wait, did I just—_

“Thanks.” She murmured.

_I did. I did just do that._

“I’m sorry. I think you’re rubbing off on me. I don’t know where that came from.”

She shook her head and smiled. He was beginning to like that smile a lot.

“It’s not a bad thing. I’m glad. Look at you, all coming-out-of-your-shell!”

She fastened the gauze in place and pulled his pant leg down over it. After helping him to his feet, she threw one of his arms over her shoulders and they began to walk to the infirmary. At the least they’d be able to set him up with some painkillers or proper bandaging. Summer was so much shorter than him, but she was strong despite her small stature; he barely had to support himself the entire way. And the way she tackled Raven—if it hadn’t been so shocking, he would’ve thought it was pretty terrific.

“What did you say to my sister?”

“Oh, that? I—uh—” She glanced to the floor. “It’s kind of embarrassing now that I think about it.”

“Why?”

“It’s cheesy. Like super-mega-ultra cheesy.”

“Come on.”

“I—I said that if she ever hurt you again, I would do everything I could to get her expelled from Beacon. And that she didn’t deserve you.”

Oh.

He felt strangely warm inside.

“Damn. Why’d you say that?”

“You’re my partner, and, well—” She paused, hooking her hand against his ribs. “You’re good inside. We’ve only been together for a week, but I feel it in my gut. You deserve everything, Qrow.” She nodded. “The very best. Don’t worry about Raven. From now on, I’ll be the best sister you ever had.”

“My hero.”

“Jeez, don’t be like that!” She laughed, embarrassed.

Many years later, when he tries to pinpoint the moment he first began to fall in love with her, the planting of the seed that would spread its roots deep through his soul, this is the one he recalls.


	3. Chapter 3

“All this studying is making me sleepy. Care to go for a walk?”

Taiyang leaned back on his chair, one foot propped up on the desktop. He and Summer had been studying for the upcoming Tactics exam, and although they both took piles of notes they had sorted through them all and made a study guide. The guide was supposed to help them study by focusing the information to the major points, but it had taken three hours just to compile it. Between their morning PT and this, Saturday was almost whittled away to nothing. Still, Summer supposed, at least Raven and Qrow would enjoy the fruits of their labor. Once they got back from visiting their aunt, they’d be able to jump right in. Summer stretched in her seat. It had been a lot of work. She could use a break.

“Will you wear a jacket outside?” She asked. “I swear, I get the chills looking at you.”

“It’s spring.”

“Please, humor me.” 

He grabbed his brown leather jacket from its hook by the door and they walked out across the main courtyard, past the giant Hunter statue, and into the woods on the edge of campus. Dappled sunlight streaked through the light mist and made the air glow, but the forest floor was a sloppy, muddy mess. Summer lost her footing, her boot slick against the mush, but Taiyang snatched her elbow and kept her upright. 

“Close one.” He said, and smiled at her.

They wandered through the underbrush, careful of snagged clumps of roots or uneven ground. Taiyang walked with confidence even through the thickest parts of the mud, and waited for her to tiptoe through behind him. She took another step, and her foot sank. She tugged, but it only worked itself deeper.

“Here,” He said, and reached out a hand to steady her. She took it and yanked her boot out of the sloppy earth with a long sucking sound.

“I think we should go back. I don’t know how you walk through this.” She said.

“I’m used to it. I grew up in the northern part of Vacuo, so when the river floods in spring it always turns the ground into a swamp. Are you sure you want to go back? I was out walking a few days ago and found a nice spot by the river not far from here. We could wash your boots, if you like.”

Summer knew that the hose from Beacon’s landscaping shed would work as well as a stream, and she was miserable stumbling through the woods like this, but she realized this was one of the few times she had spent with Taiyang in total seclusion. For once, she had him all to herself, and they weren’t occupied by books or projects. He looked over his broad shoulder at her, dappled sunlight saturating his hair, and she agreed in a heartbeat. 

The spot was hidden away in the curve of the river’s shoreline, and the water was deep and clear. Summer sat on one of the many large rocks dotting the shore and untied her boots while Taiyang discarded his coat on the ground and rolled up his chinos up past his knee so he could wade in the water. He stepped in and shivered.

“Be careful, Taiyang.” The currents in the center of the flow looked quite strong indeed.

“Don’t worry, this is nothing.” 

He rolled up his sleeves. She threw him a boot, and he bent down to rinse the tread in the water, careful not to get any inside the toe box. This was a beautiful place, Summer thought; the river cut through a set of tall shale cliffs and the evergreens continued to shade away sunlight, making a patchwork of light over everything beneath. At its deepest parts the water churned greenish-blue in graceful rolls, and Summer could see why ancient peoples thought rivers housed the gods—the movement was powerful, almost alive, like a translucent serpent twisting under the waves.

“You’re beautiful when you’re lost in thought, you know.”

Blush spilled into her cheeks.

“Huh?” She sputtered.

“You have a nice profile. When you’re daydreaming, your eyes go soft and you look beautiful.”

He said it so plainly, like he was pointing out the color of the sky. Summer’s friends in school thought she was pretty, and her father told her she was cute, but a boy her own age had never said that. To be told she was beautiful by a boy, by Taiyang Xiao Long no less—well, she just about forgot to breathe. Taiyang didn’t notice her silence, instead washing her other boot until something further into the river caught his eye. He pointed to a spot with his free hand, his face bright with excitement.

“Hey, check it out!” He grinned. “If you look close, I think you can see a paddlefish down there!”

“Where?”

“Right there!”

She walked gingerly with bare feet to the water’s edge, but she still couldn’t see it. 

“Come out here, you can see it loads better.”

“It’s cold, and I’ll get my pant-legs wet.”

“Roll them up! With cargo pants like those, they’ll roll all the way up to your thigh. And it’ll only be a minute, I promise, it’s just neat.”

It was neat, to her surprise. The paddlefish was three feet long, a real monster whichever way you looked at it, and it swam among a cloud of minnows and other small fish, light gleaming off its slick black skin. 

“When I was a kid my mother and I always used to fish when the rivers swelled. She caught one a lot like that when I was seven, and we ate it for days. I didn’t think I’d see one in water flowing this fast.”

“The outdoors aren’t really my thing,” Summer said, her toes freezing. “Nature and I are allergic to each other.”

“Oh, your feet must be cold, aren’t they? Let’s get out.”

Perhaps it was because she was in the water, but her teeth wouldn’t stop chattering. The temperature had dipped as well, and what had been a brisk afternoon was now chilly. Taiyang gave her his coat to wear over her jacket on the way back, and when they arrived at the dorm he patted her on the shoulder.

“Thanks for the walk.”

“It’s no big deal.” She shrugged.

“Maybe, but I dragged you through mud and freezing cold water and you haven’t murdered me for it, so I appreciate that. And I’d like to do it again soon, if that’s okay.”

A twinge of excitement ran through the top of her spine to her heels.

“Sure.”  


So they started to take walks together whenever they needed a study break. They didn’t go to the woods again unless the weather was warm and dry, but they often wandered through campus or down to the docks below Beacon. Qrow and Raven joined them sometimes, but usually it was just the two of them; Raven preferred to take power naps instead and Qrow declined his invitations. Summer thought that was unusual for him, but she didn’t mind that much. She got to have Taiyang all to herself then, and the more time she spent with him, the more likeable he was. 

They had been teammates together for four weeks now, but she felt like she was finally getting to know him. He was as handsome as ever, but she didn’t expect him to be eccentric; he told her about his strange little hobbies, like filling empty mint tins with tiny origami animals and taking pictures of his dogs in little costumes back home. Once or twice he told her about the culture shock of coming from northern Vacuo to Vale; he said the buildings and the airships made him feel like a country bumpkin, unfamiliar with all the lights and urban comforts. He asked her lots of questions about her tinkering habits too, which tools she used and how she made Thorn with so many moving parts, and in return he answered her questions about Dust crafting. Taiyang was so smart, and so curious about everything, but weird too. The best kind of weird, the kind she could spend hours chatting with him about. Her kind of weird.

Before Summer knew it, she was falling in love.


	4. Chapter 4

Within the first few months, Qrow determined that Summer must be able to read his mind. Or at least it seemed like she could, because he could not recall a time when another person (other than his twin) could endure a day of his silence and still know exactly what he thought or needed. This morning, as they were leaving Dust Applications, she took his books from him and went ahead to the next class so he could ask the professor for clarification on a theory, and he hadn’t asked her to do that. When he entered History of Remnant a few minutes later, she read his questioning glance in an instant.

“You get creases here when you don’t understand something,” She said, and pressed a finger to the worn tracks between his eyebrows. “I figured you needed help.” He smiled at her, and she patted his shoulder. He never told her these things, but she knew. He asked her about it once.

“Well, you’re a quiet guy with your words, but you say a lot here,” She said, gesturing to his face. “And if you’re relaxed, you have a lot to say, you know?”

That was exactly the way his father described him, too. How strange that she could learn that about him so fast, and that she didn’t mind his quiet nature like Raven did. Summer knew a lot of things about him already. She knew he liked chamomile tea at breakfast and the stray cat that hung around the kitchens’ back door; she knew he was the best in the team at making flash cards, but needed help planning study sessions because he got overwhelmed by the stress; upturned eyebrows from him meant worry and confusion, a straight mouth meant Raven had said something harsh when Summer wasn’t around; he didn’t speak often, but his partner knew what he needed. She was could pick her way into his heart, and he couldn’t keep many things locked up from her for long. She was always looking out for him. In many ways, she had stayed true to her word: she was the sister he’d never had.

Qrow knew a lot of things about Summer too, and he picked up on them with as much adroitness as his partner. She kept her dark brown hair in a cropped bob so she could run her brush through it in a second and get to class faster. Her hands were always covered in scrapes and tiny cuts from working on her weapon and other machine projects, and she did not register the world when a screwdriver was in her hand. 

She didn’t know how to play chess. He taught her one night before they went to bed; they laid out the board he had brought from home, the wooden one that was hinged to fold in half and hold all the parts, and he walked her through each unit and its rules. She played white, and as he mercilessly took all her pieces (“You won’t learn if I go easy on you.”) and set them to the side, she laid her hand on his. It was an afterthought. She did it when she was eating sometimes, and when she read in the library. Qrow didn’t think she realized how often it happened. She never seemed to notice, like it was just a habit for her. He brushed it off—the Zucker twins did that sometimes, and James Ironwood always threw an arm around his older sister Maggie when she was still in school. When he put her king into checkmate, Summer slumped against the table and glared at him.

“You’re mean.”

“Not true.”

“No, it’s not.” She sighed. “Want to study?”

“If you want to.”

She studied until she fell asleep on top of her book. Qrow watched her back rise and fall with her breathing, and reached out to gently shake her shoulder.

“Summer, go lie down.”

She murmured back nonsense. He went to her, nudged her into his waiting arms, and carried her to her bed. Before he laid her down, he sat on the mattress and looked at her for a moment. It felt nice, holding her. It was the first time he had held anyone like this; his heart quickened. The way her head lolled against his shoulder and the way her dark hair fell across her brow—she was so pretty. She was prettier than his sister, or any other girl at Beacon. 

_I want to kiss her,_ he thought, but pressed his cheek against her temple for a moment instead. Any longer and it would’ve been creepy—past that point already, even. The thought felt scandalous. Raven would probably laugh if she knew how quickly he had fallen for his partner.

After he set her down and covered her with her quilt, she reached for his hand in her sleep, clenching it until she fell deeper into slumber and relaxed. His mouth quirked. He wondered who she dreamed about. Probably Taiyang.

Summer liked Taiyang. They had become good friends, especially when they started to take walks during study breaks. At first Qrow was glad she had finally started to connect with another teammate: sometimes she worried him, because he was afraid she always put him first at the detriment of her own needs. At first, he was happy his squad leader could make her laugh like he did, and could talk with her in greater detail about her interests. That feeling quickly soured. Once she started falling in love with Taiyang, Qrow felt an urge of possessiveness ripple through his body every time she brought him up. He did his best to ignore it. Summer needed another friend, and she wanted to be his sister, so he let her play that role. It wasn’t her fault that Taiyang made her heart race and he didn’t. All Qrow wanted was for her to be happy.

“It’s not just that Taiyang’s smart or handsome,” She told him one afternoon, her arms wrapped around her pillow. “It’s his heart. He’s so… _bright._ You know how some people just radiate joy? Like a special kind of goodness?”

He knew. One of them was sitting right in front of him, and he wanted to tell her, but he only nodded.

“Well, that’s how Taiyang feels to me. I feel like I want to be around him as much as I can.”

Summer liked Taiyang. He preferred Raven, much to Summer’s chagrin. She had been shot down in the most spectacular fashion too—she went out of her way to arrange a picnic on school grounds for the team after their first mission together, and had gone completely overboard with the preparations. There was chocolate-covered strawberries and fresh roasted chicken, cucumber sandwiches with crusts cut off and an elaborate Waldorf salad; it was overcompensating at best. In accordance with their plan, Qrow convinced Raven to go with him back to campus to grab some hidden-away champagne, leaving Taiyang alone to hear Summer’s confession. She was convinced they would become a couple that afternoon. By the time Qrow got back, though, Summer’s watery gray eyes and shaky voice betrayed her veneer of composure. Taiyang didn’t look at either of them the rest of the day, stuffing his face to avoid speaking and his neck stiff with embarrassment. Qrow’s heart ached in sympathy for his partner; when she hurt, he felt as though a boot was squashing his chest.

“It’s no big deal, Qrow,” Raven told him later that night. “She’ll get over it.”

He was angry at his sister, angry at the hidden tears Summer had wiped away on the way home, angry for the way their leader looked worriedly over to Raven and not at Qrow’s short, kind partner. Surely, he thought, since Taiyang was that close to Summer, he would like her as much as Qrow did, wouldn’t he? How could he not? But he didn’t, and Summer’s heart was broken.

 _If it were me,_ Qrow thought, _\--if it were me--_

The anger burst from his mouth like a flame.

“Raven, you weren’t even interested in Taiyang! Until this week, you hated his guts!” 

“I didn’t _hate_ him, I thought he didn’t have a spine. But when we were on the mission, he showed me that he’s just as skilled as I am; he’s devoted to the team and to our partnership. The way he took down those Grimm, and covered our landing zone? That took guts. He’s a leader, through and through. Sure, he’s handsome, but he’s brave, and smart too, and that’s attractive.”

“But—”

“Qrow, Summer’s your partner, and you want her to be happy, but it’s not my fault that Taiyang sees something more attractive in me than in her. I’m better suited for him. That’s not my fault, it’s just how things are. Believe me, this is for the best.”

“Her rejection is ‘for the best?’ Just like leaving Adam behind was ‘for the best?’”

Raven’s jaw dropped, and she stood stunned for a moment before punching him square in the mouth. Qrow tasted coppery blood from his lip before his throat closed off, his sister’s forearm a sharp edge against his trachea. She slammed him against their dorm wall, and he was glad they were alone.

“Don’t you ever say his name,” She hissed.

He tore her arm away from his neck by her wrist and she flared forward again with a roar, bunching his shirt into her tight fists at his shoulders. He laid both hands below her collarbone and shoved. For such a strong girl, she felt lighter than he thought she should, or maybe he didn’t know his own strength; his twin fell backwards and clipped her cheekbone on the corner of Taiyang’s desk. The bruise that he knew would be there later flushed red into place, and she bit back her pain.

Shock zipped through Qrow’s blood, stretching the seconds apart. He had never, ever hurt his sister before, even when they were little kids, and other than that day in the training room Raven had also avoided doing that from the first day they had entered elementary school. 

“Oh god,” He said, and rushed to her side. “Let me see.”

“I’m fine.” 

But she wasn’t. She was crying. She shielded her cheek with a hand, squirming to sink harder against the desk and the wall against which she was now cornered.

“Raven, please. Let me see. Please.”

There weren’t any cuts, but the mark would turn black in a day. He brushed the outskirts of the bruise with his fingers, probing for tenderness, and she snatched his hand.

“Cut it out!” She whimpered.

“I’m sorry, I—I’ll get you some ice!” He said, and he ran out the door.

When he returned, she lay curled up in bed, facing the wall with her knees tucked against her chest. He wrapped the icepack in a washcloth and pressed it to her cheek, a ripple of guilt coursing through him every time she sniffled. He sat on the edge of the bed, uncertain what to do.

“You know I couldn’t have kept him.” She whispered.

“I know.”

“How could I have raised him? A half-Faunus, his father missing, in a city where the citizens would lynch either of them if they had even half a chance?”

“It might’ve gotten better. The White Fang—”

“The White Fang are idealists. Years of peaceful protests and nothing to show for it.” She sniffed, and he passed her a tissue. She blew into it, eyes puffy and swollen.

“God,” she whispered. “I wish none of this had happened. I was so stupid. And we were too young, Qrow. We were so young. I’m afraid Adam’s going to grow up and wonder why I left him behind. He’s going to think I didn’t love him, but I do! I—I—”

She shook with weeping, folded tight into a ball, and Qrow wanted to tell her that she hadn’t been stupid; he wanted to tell her that she had fallen in love with someone, and that love was always a beautiful thing. He wanted to tell her that bearing a child at such a young age, especially one so destined for hardship, was a brave decision no matter what the circumstances. He wanted to tell Raven those things, but at the same time, he wondered if speaking further would only cause her more pain. Instead, he held the ice pack to her cheek, passed her tissues, and waited for her to fall asleep though her tears. He never brought Taiyang or Summer’s unrequited love for him up to Raven again.


	5. Chapter 5

Taiyang and Raven were inseparable, and it was hard to see that every day. But they also fought—about what, Summer didn’t know, but she knew they took breaks every few months, usually just a day or two, never more than a week. They never officially broke up, but they took breaks. They were still nice to each other (no canoodling with others on the side) but it was almost like they needed space, like they wanted alone time. It became as natural as the phases of the moon, so after the fifth or sixth time she stopped thinking about asking Taiyang out for a date when he wasn’t with Raven. They would invariably get back together.

Qrow sat with Summer one afternoon on the cold hardwood floor of the dorms’ common area, passing her hex keys and machine oil when she asked. At the moment, she twirled a tiny screwdriver, wrist bent sharp at a strange angle. She had already finished smoothing out the sniper rifle’s bolt action, but this part was frustrating her. She was trying to tweak his scythe’s aiming module for him now and was failing, in part because it was impossible to ignore the constant play of affection displayed across the room. Their two other team-mates sat on a sofa, Raven’s legs sprawled across Taiyang’s knees as she read, his hand massaging the top of her bare shin with broad, firm strokes. He said something to her, and she smirked, but continued to read. Summer huffed. 

They didn’t have to look so happy _all_ the time.

“Does it still bother you?” Qrow asked, black eyes soft and curious.

“No.” She lied. She nicked her thumb with the screwdriver and flinched at the pain. Qrow nudged her foot with his own.

“Summer, you don’t have to hide it.”

She looked at the device in her hand. This scope was still out of focus, no matter how she finagled it. She held it up to her eye and examined the whorls and filigrees of the ornamental ceiling tiles. With a sigh, she put the piece back down on the floor and began to wipe grease off her hands with a rag.

“I’m fine, really. Just wish I had a chance with him, that’s all.”

Qrow picked up the scope and pointed it straight at her face. His expression neutral, he stared into the barrel and examined her all over. 

“As far as I can tell,” He began, “Considering how smart you are, and your humor, he doesn’t know what he’s missing.” 

“Pretty sure your sister’s smokin’ bod has the advantage there.”

“Raven’s beautiful, but you’ve got your own thing.”

A blush ran into her cheeks. She snatched the scope from him, but he smiled in that slow, gentle way she adored. She rolled her eyes.

“Not to mention my huge tits.”

“Or lack thereof.”

“Shut up! Don’t be an asshole.” She laughed. 

She glanced across the room again and wished she hadn’t; now Raven was sitting in Taiyang’s lap, book discarded on the sofa cushion, his arms wrapped tight around her waist. 

“Don’t let it get to you,” Qrow said softly, and pulled her sweatshirt’s hood over her eyes. 

Two weeks later, when the Vytal Festival sign-up sheets started filling and students began rounding up dates for the dance, she went to Qrow right away.

“Do you want to go together?”

“Why me?” He asked, surprised. She loved that look.

“Uh, because I want to take you?” She said. “Because we’re best friends, and partners?”

She could imagine it now: the red dress she had picked out, a nice silk tie in the same color for him, some kind of white flower in her hair. Qrow would look sharp if he borrowed that black dress shirt from Maximus down the hall, too. He would look so handsome. He was so handsome already—

“—to take you?”

“Huh?”

He nudged her forehead with a finger.

“Remnant to Summer; come in, Summer. I asked why you wouldn’t just ask Taiyang to take you. He’s on a break with Raven again. This is your chance.”

Oh, that’s right. Raven and Taiyang had been on a break for a few days now. 

How could she forget?

“Well, they’ll probably be back together by then anyway.” She shrugged. “You know how Raven loves social functions. So…do you want to go?”

He did. And Raven and Taiyang were at the dance together, just as she had thought, and it didn’t bother her. Well, no more than usual. Summer didn’t pay much attention to them, because she and Qrow were busy dancing and chatting with a few members of other teams. The night flew by, and after they came back to their dorm room and got ready for bed, Summer surprised Qrow with a hug before they fell asleep. 

It was brief; she wrapped herself tight against him for only a moment, barely long enough for him to embrace her in return. She had only wanted to thank him for going with her, but she got distracted the moment her ear pressed against his chest; she could hear the rabbit run of his heartbeat and thought _Oh, I’ve surprised him too much._ She had monopolized him too much, pulling him into dance after dance, and now she was being clingy. In her guilt, she gave a quick “Good night,” and went to bed, and in the dark, under her covers, she thought long and hard about herself. What did she want out of her time here at Beacon? 

_I want to give Qrow the very best. I want Taiyang to love me the way I love him. I want to be friends with Raven._

If that was what she wanted, why was she making such a mess of things? Raven didn’t hate her anymore, but she still didn’t like her. Taiyang and Summer were still close, and sometimes the way he looked at her…No, she couldn’t think like that. That was all wishful thinking on her part, surely. Taiyang loved Raven, despite how their relationship fluctuated. Qrow was her best friend, but in her desire to take care of him and treat him well she kept doing these little things that made him uncomfortable. She curled into herself.

Even from that first week, she had always showered him with affection. He was starved for it. Qrow was too shy to say so, but it was clear to Summer how much he enjoyed their time together. She wanted to do everything for him. Worries niggled the corner of her mind.

What if it was too much?

What if she was treating Qrow too much like a boyfriend when she was in love with someone else? What if she was making their friendship awkward by being so close?

What if she was just using him?

Did she really hug him to thank him, or was she just envious of how Taiyang and Raven embraced at the dance and wanted to experience it for herself? When she took Qrow’s arm in the hall or, sometimes, when she casually held his hand, did she do it because he looked lonely, or because she wanted Taiyang to touch her the same way?

_Maybe I’m selfish._ She thought. _I’m not being a very good friend. I told Qrow I’d be like his sister, but I’m not treating him the way he should be treated._

She tossed in bed.

_Balance, Summer. Balance. Don’t go overboard. Take care of him, but don’t smother him. Comfort him, but don’t make him uncomfortable._  
_He’s like your brother. You can be there for him without making him uncomfortable. You can care about him without forcing yourself into a role he doesn’t want you to fill. Keep trying to be the best friend and pseudo-sister you can be, and it’ll turn out fine._  


She closed her eyes and turned that thought over in her head until she fell asleep. She repeated that lie like beads on a prayer string until she believed it.


	6. Chapter 6

It would be easier for Qrow to avoid being envious if Taiyang wasn’t so damn likeable. If Taiyang was cruel to Summer or brought out the worst in Raven, it would be easy to daydream about being the white knight to rush in and give him his comeuppance; Summer would finally notice the way Qrow felt about her, and this comfortable friendship they had would grow deeper and more passionate, like he had been fantasizing about for months and months now. 

Qrow daydreamed, but he had no illusions: Taiyang was a fine young man. Summer talked about him all the time, as if either of them didn’t see him daily. “Taiyang stayed up to help me on my paper,” she would say, or “Taiyang says I have the best metallurgy he’s ever seen!” or “Taiyang filled my backpack with packing peanuts! I’m going to kill him!” with a chuckle and a love-struck grin. Of course Qrow couldn’t hate him. He was a good guy. If he weren’t in love with Summer himself, he would do everything in his power to make sure Taiyang and his partner were together, even if it meant hurting Raven’s feelings in the process.

Hell, Raven might get hurt anyway, based on what Qrow could see.

He sensed an evolution in their team leader over the last year. Summer hadn’t, because she was blinded by the despair of her unrequited love, but he could see the changes in the way Taiyang acted around her. They had always been good friends, but now he was...well, different. Self-conscious at times; hesitant to pat her shoulder where before he would pull her into a bear hug, gazing at her absently while they worked on group projects, that sort of thing. 

It could be nothing. God knows they heard Raven and Taiyang loving each other enough most nights—he shuddered at the thought. His sister was a moaner, and he was so grossed out by it. Qrow and Summer lost count of the times they went to dinner ahead of them and came back to a locked door and the sounds of sex vibrating through the thin walls of the dorm; he would grimace, Summer would roll her eyes while color spotted high in her cheeks, and she would pull him by the hand to go on a walk for another half-hour. Taiyang loved Raven, so maybe Qrow was imagining the attraction seeming to grow for Summer.

He didn’t want to think about the alternative. Life was painful enough as it was.

“Do you like it?” Summer asked.

The cloak was made of black gabardine, and as he stared at himself in the cheap full-length mirror on the front of their bathroom door, it impressed him how well it draped over his shoulders. The elegant steel clasp at his throat was a combination of Summer’s gear sigil folded under the Branwen wing; when he looked over his shoulder he saw the same symbol in muted gray printed on the back. She lifted the hood over his head, the gray silk lining nuzzling his ears. 

“It’s wool,” She said, “So it’s warm, and it repels water well. And as long as you hang it up, it should keep its shape, too.”

“It’s beautiful, Summer.”

She brightened when he said that. She went to her bed and pulled out a box from underneath it. She lifted the lid, pulled out a large cloth bundle, and whipped it around herself in a flourish; it was another cloak, almost identical to his in cut, symbol, and fabric, but white. The hood came down low over her eyes, just like his, and the crimson lining popped in his vision like blood on snow. She stood shoulder to shoulder with him, grinning at their reflections. 

“I thought it would be nice to coordinate.” 

“…I should have gotten you a much better present.” He said, impressed. She nudged him gently.

“Hey, no, I love the gunsmithing manual. Those projects are going to keep me busy all term. It was a wonderful gift.”

“If you say so.”

“I do.”

As they always did now, the two of them pulled close, his arm perched along her shoulders, her arm slung low across the small of his back. They looked at each other’s’ reflections, a perfect set of friends, and he felt that now-familiar warmth flush his skin. She squeezed his side.

“Merry Christmas, Qrow.” She said.

It grew quiet. It always amazed him how brightly light reflected within that silver gaze when she was happy. She was so beautiful. He wanted nothing more than to lift her chin and kiss those soft lips until they were both dizzy; the thought swelled through his chest, broke through his face as the slow smile she said she adored, and he turned to her. Qrow took her small hands in his.

“Thank you.” He murmured. She blushed, looked at their hands together, and her smiled faded. She bit her lower lip. Her brows knit together in worry.

“Hey, you okay?” He asked. She nodded, but her face wasn’t flushed with delight any longer. When he stroked the back of her head like she did for him sometimes, she trembled under his touch.

“Oh my god, you two are ridiculous.”

He snapped his gaze over his shoulder. Raven slouched against the frame of their front door, her thumb still hooked over the knob, a look of queasy annoyance on her face.

“Just how long have you been standing there?” He asked, unable to quite keep the resentment out of his voice. His sister rolled her eyes.

“Long enough to know monochrome color schemes are an eyesore.” She glared at their interlocking hands. 

“Hey, Summer,” She asked, voice low and angry, “Are you actually interested in my brother, or are you just going to keep playing with him for a few more years?”

“Raven!” He shouted.

Summer looked like Raven had just slapped her across the face. She shook off his arm (a pang of loss shot through him) and unhooked her cloak, balling it into the chest and slamming the lid. She shoved the box underneath her bed, and clenched her fists as she stood. He touched her shoulder, pleading words waiting on the tip of his tongue, but she shook her head (were those tears in her eyes?) and stormed out of the room, a trail of fresh thorns from her semblance dropping onto the floor in her wake. Raven toed the spines with her boot, and swung the door shut behind her. Tension rippled into Qrow’s jaw.

“What was that for!?” His voice sounded like an awl to his own ears, sharp and pointed. Raven shrugged.

“It was exactly what I said. I’m tired of her leading you on.”

“She’s not leading me on, it’s not like that! She cares about me. She’s cared about me from the moment we met, which is more than I can say for you sometimes.”

“Hey,” Raven snapped. “I just think it’s ridiculous that you two are traipsing around in matching, color-coded combat gear. I mean, come on, Qrow, it’s like you’re still in middle school.”

“Why do you even care?”

“Because it’s obvious this ‘We’re partners! We do everything together! We’re like family!’ crap is just Summer’s weird way of substituting for a boyfriend. My boyfriend. She can’t handle Taiyang and I being a couple, and every year she gets clingier and clingier with you because she won’t accept that. She doesn’t want to commit to you in case we break up, but she’ll do everything but that to play out her strange little fantasies until then. It’s not fair to you, Qrow.”

“Not everything is about you, Raven. Summer is my partner. She’s my friend, my best friend—”

“She doesn’t love you.”

_“I know that!”_ He shouted. 

His sister’s mouth dropped open in surprise, the conversation escalated beyond her expectations. He grimaced, and fought hard to not grit his teeth at the soreness he felt in his chest.

“She doesn’t love me that way.” He said. “She loves Taiyang. I’m Summer’s best friend. I’m the one who takes her attention away from the two of you. I’m…” His nails bit into his hand. “I’m her partner; reserved, gangly Qrow, the one who watches and says nothing, the one who listens to her and the one she looks after like the little brother she always wanted. I love her the way she wishes Taiyang would, and she doesn’t know. Or she doesn’t want to know.”

“Qrow…”

“I love her. She’s so good to me. I can’t help it—she’s too easy to love. Can’t you see that?” 

Raven pulled him into a hug. They hadn’t shared one in years.

“I know you love her, little brother. I know that.” She whispered. “She cares about you, she does. I—I shouldn’t say those kinds of things in front of you. I see you suffering and it hurts me too. I don’t want you to be in pain.”

He let her go, and his hand flew to the steel clasp of his cloak, the symbol’s edges digging into his palm. He had half a mind to tear it loose—it was cruel, how right it felt to see their symbols combined in one design when he knew she didn’t think of him that way. He wanted to pluck it off and throw it through the window so it could be forgotten amongst the tall shrubs and field mice. He clenched it, threads taut, muscles tense— _I should,_ he thought. _I should throw it away. I should tell her it was a nice thought, but not my style. I should ask her to stop doing these kinds of things for me. I should ask for a transfer to another team._

But his arm wouldn’t tear the piece from the fabric. His fist remembered the brush of her palm down his chest as she smoothed out the cloak, and the trail of her fingers through his hair as she adjusted his hood, his scalp shivering with the chance contact. It was so sad, to notice and feel such little things in his heart every day. They were stacked up, tiny scraps of accidental affection eagerly stored and subsisted on as he watched her pine after Taiyang, their fearless leader, the man with charm and fine-cut features and a goofy affection that made her ache for him; it was pointless. It was torture. 

But he couldn’t give her up.

“Qrow...I’m sorry.”

His whole body shook. Shame curled him into himself, pulling away from his sister’s fast embrace.

“Leave me alone.” He said. She hesitated, but stepped out, leaving him with only Summer’s discarded thorns for company.


	7. Chapter 7

The mission in Mistral at the end of second year took a turn for the worse, and Summer had been close to death. It was the result of a series of mistakes on all of their parts: Taiyang read the Grimm’s herd patterns wrong, Raven attacked the creatures before the rest of the team was set, Qrow was half-crushed by a Boarbatusk after he stumbled in the unfamiliar terrain, and Summer was too flustered skewering the monster away from her partner to avoid another Grimm’s tusks gouging through her Aura and straight into her abdomen like a knife through paper. There was a microsecond where Qrow could see the wound in perfect detail, all the way down to the bone and exposed muscle, before it burst with blood. 

Summer drove her spear through the top of the creature’s skull and then clapped a hand to her stomach. Qrow didn’t need to look at it longer to know the injury was bad. Her eyes filled with shock, and then, a thin, sharp edge of fear. 

“Go,” She said, too calm. “I’ll hold them off.”

Thorn extended into its bulky assault rifle function, and bullets shattered other Grimm only a few meters away. With every burst of fire and recoil, the red stain of her wound expanded across her clothes. A Beowolf got a lucky swipe in and tore open Summer’s scalp before Qrow sliced it in two, but they needed to get out of there. In a snap, Qrow looked for his other teammates—Raven’s crimson armor flashed through the trees, Taiyang’s golden aura shone bright on the other side of the clearing. His sister and their leader had been split up, and were trying to regroup, but there were at least fifty Grimm between the two, and even more stood in the way of Qrow and Summer joining them. No, they wouldn’t last on their own, not with Summer injured.

Qrow took the Dust crystals from his utility belt, the ones Taiyang had told him to use only in an emergency. He struck the two against each other and threw them into the crowd of monsters stampeding towards them, and when they exploded he threw Summer into a fireman’s carry and sprinted into the brush. The explosion gave a little time, perhaps enough to gain distance and regroup with the others, or at least find a place to signal an emergency extraction.

Qrow’s shoulder jabbed into Summer’s hip, earning a low grunt of pain from her as he assaulted the oozing wound on her stomach with every step he took. She would be easier to carry if she wasn’t fighting tooth-and-nail to get out of his grasp. She tried to pull her wrist free of his grip, but his fingers clamped around it like a shackle, his other hand firm against the back of her knee.

“Let me go, I’m only slowing you down!” She spat through gritted teeth. 

She jerked, her free leg twisting against his fireman’s carry, and Qrow lost his footing, sending them both tumbling into the dust. He gave a sharp cry, his hurt knee throbbing. Summer tried to sit up, but collapsed against the dirt in agony. He was on her in an instant, his hands sealed tight to her wound. Blood matted her dark hair slick across her scalp, streaks of it smeared over her cheek; he looked down at the rivulets of blood from her stomach squeezing through his fingers, and felt lightheaded. 

“You’re going to be okay,” He said, but it was more for him than her. 

This couldn’t be happening, not to her; not to Summer, the strong one, the gentle one who taught him how to dance and how to dress, the friend who had made him tea out of cherry blossoms and hid funny notes in his books. Not his love, not his beautiful, sweet love of his life. She couldn’t just die like this. She couldn’t! But the blood kept gushing through his fingers, and her skin became paler with each fading heartbeat. Weakly, she folded his hand over his.

“Qrow, it’s okay. You have to leave, before—”

“I’m not letting you go!” He roared, heart clenching in his chest. “I won’t leave you behind! Never, Summer!”

They heard the Goliaths’ trumpeting through the trees, growing more distant as they pursued Raven and Taiyang. Still, the ground shook even from this distance—the Grimm’s movements could change at any time, and they were in real danger here. Qrow ripped open the pouch on his belt, fumbling for some Dust vials or bandages, anything to stanch the bleeding. He yanked out the cork of a small bottle with his teeth, poured the white granules over the gash, and worked them into her torn flesh. 

She couldn’t die. He wouldn’t let her die. He would make sure of it, no matter what he had to do.

Qrow pushed his aura into her, scalding and quick; he could feel the torn muscle fibers knotting together again, her skin closing over the ripped tissue and new blood blooming like a miracle in her heart. He poured out everything he could, flooding her system, feeling his own energy wear thinner by the second.

“Qrow,” She groaned, “Don’t. You’ll…”

Sweat and tears dripped down his face. His vision blurred into a black tunnel, heartbeat rushing in his ears. He wheezed with exertion, gasping for air, until he collapsed face-first onto the ground from the strain. Qrow felt unconsciousness stomp into his skull, only awakening for a few minutes safely nestled in the Bullhead’s cargo bay as they headed back to Vale, strapped to a gurney, and found Summer’s hand slung across his wrist as she slept in a chair next to him, her cheek flush with the mattress, two fingers resting secure on the pulse-point. Taiyang sat next to her.

“You’re awake.” He said.

“Seems that way.”

“You doing okay?”

Qrow smirked.

“Boss, you look just like I feel.”

That got a laugh out of him. Taiyang’s hand and neck were bandaged, and a slick green paste clung to his cheek—anti-inflammatory gel for Grimm venom. He must’ve caught the business end of a young Deathstalker. When he chuckled he winced—could be cracked ribs or a broken collarbone, or a similar injury. None of them had an easy time out there. Taiyang sighed and his smile vanished. He slouched with fatigue.

“The flight crew found the two of you passed out in the woods—had to lay down suppressing fire to pick you up before you would’ve been lunch for the baddies. Risky move, using your Aura like that.”

“It was worth it. Where’s Raven?”

“Sleeping it off. She’s untouched—” Naturally. “—But exhausted. She watched over you on the first leg of the trip.”

“That’s eighteen hours.”

“Mmmhmm.”

Taiyang looked over to Summer and laid a protective hand on her hair. Summer shifted in her sleep, and her soft snores went on undisturbed. 

“This little one won’t leave you. She feels responsible.”

“She’s not.”

“I know, but you know how she is better than anyone.” He paused. “You’re lucky.”

Taiyang leaned forward, elbows resting on his knees, hands knitted loose between them. He frowned. Qrow’s eyelids fluttered, and he didn’t mean to fall asleep again, but he couldn’t help it. He dove in and out of consciousness, catching little pieces of time: Raven put a hand on his forehead and called him an idiot, Taiyang helped the field medic change out the nutrient bag that rejuvenated his aura via the IV in his arm, Summer squeezed his hand and asked him to take it easy for the next few weeks. He floated, but never let go of her.


	8. Chapter 8

Summer shivered under the flurries of ice, and her layers of clothing did nothing to warm her body up. It was deep in November now, and the snow was up to her mid-calf—her boots kept out water, but they didn’t keep in heat, so her toes felt solid and numb. She rubbed her gloved fingers together, sticking them under her armpits, and wished for the hundredth time that she didn’t have to be out here with her least favorite teammate. 

Team TRQS had patrol in the Forever Fall today, but since Taiyang and Qrow were both stricken with the flu (“Oh please, it’s totally mono,” Raven joked) and in no shape to fight, their respective partners had decided to do a sweep on their own. They were third-years now, after all, and most of the Grimm would be in hibernation or would limit their movement. Summer and Raven were on their way back, and for the six hours they had been out here they had only seen a few scattered packs of Beowolves, which were easily dispatched between the two of them. In less than an hour, Summer would be back in the dorm. Now that Taiyang was on the upswing and neither of them were contagious any longer, it would be easier for Summer to take care of her partner.

Qrow was worse off than Taiyang; their leader’s fever was close to breaking and the vomiting was less frequent now, so Raven would only have to give him fluids and wait for him to recover, and she could return to her normal bed. Since they were third-years and had a suite-style dorm now rather than a traditional one-room, once Taiyang had come down with flu symptoms, he had quarantined himself in their half of the dorm, and Raven had had to sleep on the crampt loveseat on her brother’s side. Or, at least she would have, if Qrow hadn’t volunteered to let her sleep in his bed. 

_He’s too nice,_ Summer thought, and smiled. 

When she saw him scrunching up on the couch, his lanky arms and legs spilling over the edges no matter how tight he pulled them in, she felt a wave of humor and pity for him, and a little of something else too, like the bright feeling she got inside when she cuddled a puppy. For an instant that night, she thought about inviting him to share her bed instead; _I’m small,_ she would say, _and it’s long enough you can stretch out._ She wouldn’t have minded, she thought, especially since she was cold at night, and he always seemed so warm…

And then she thought about how strange it was to think of offering Qrow her bed (with her in it) rather than to trade sleeping spots with him. After all, she could fit just as well on the loveseat as he could in her bed, and he’d have more space without her there. And, after thinking that and pushing away the sudden uneasiness flickering through her mind caused by her first idea, she traded with him, and slept on the sofa until he started to get sick. 

When they returned to Beacon, the two women stomped the snow off their boots and ate dinner together in the cafeteria. Summer was ravenous—she felt like she hadn’t eaten in a year, with all the tramping through the snow they’d done this afternoon. Raven slung the thick wave of her hair over one shoulder and leaned her cheek into her hand, picking at the bowl of stew in front of her.

“Not hungry?” She asked. Raven shook her head. “Come on, you’ve got to keep your strength up. I can’t take care of all of you.”

Raven smirked. “You’re such a mom,” She said.

The way she said it, Summer didn’t know if it was a compliment or an insult. She kept silent, stuffing her face with alternating bites of a roll and an apple. Raven dipped her spoon into her bowl, and ate.

“I appreciate you taking care of Qrow, by the way.” She said.

“Well, of course. You’ve got your boyfriend to think about.”

“Yeah,” Raven chuckled, “Taiyang’s helpless, isn’t he? Like a baby. A muscular, handsome baby.”

“For someone who’s so smart, he has no idea of how to take care of himself when he’s sick, does he?”

“No, he doesn’t. If he did, he wouldn’t try to work out with the flu and vomit all over a weight bench.” Summer laughed.

“That was so gross,” She groaned, “Qrow would never do something like that! He’s so responsible, if he could he wouldn’t even let me bring him food, he’d be so worried about spreading germs.”

Raven smiled at her, and it was a more genuine and kind smile than Summer had seen from her in the past. She wasn’t used to being surprised by Raven—the woman was consistent in her apathy towards her, if nothing else. 

“I was wrong about you, Summer.”

“Oh?”

“About you and Qrow. About what I said last year.”

“You don’t think I’m leading him on?”

“No, I don’t think so.” Raven sighed. “Enjoy this, because I don’t eat my words very often, but you’re a good friend to my brother. He cares about you very much.”

 _Oh,_ Summer thought. She had the strangest undulation in her chest. 

“And I care about him too, of course.” Another throb from her heart. “He’s like family to me.” 

“Well, it’s not surprising. Caring about each other makes us a better team. The stronger the connection, the better the partnership. Look at me and Taiyang, we—”

She stood up, meal half-finished, and took her tray with her. Raven looked up in surprise.

“Jeez, here we are talking about him and it just hit me that Qrow hasn’t eaten all day! I should get some soup for him too. See you at home!” Summer hurried to the counter, scooped out a new bowl of stew, and raced back to their room. She didn’t understand why their conversation had upset her. 

When she opened the door to their side of the suite, after she set the tray of food on the counter she noticed Taiyang stretched out naked on her bed, a fluffy towel draped over his privates and little else. Qrow was nowhere to be seen. Taiyang was dozing, one arm thrown over his eyes, like he was waiting for her. Summer’s brain registered his thick, taut muscles and the distinct, pulsing warmth blossoming between her legs for about ten seconds before words caught up to her.

“Taiyang, what the fuck?!”

He bolted awake, the towel sliding off part of him. He was larger than Summer had guessed. The warm pulse running through her sex quickened despite efforts to control it. He stared at her in shock, his violet eyes striking against his flu-sallow complexion, and pulled the towel back over himself.

“Why are you in my room!?” He shouted.

“Why are you in _my_ room?!” She yelled back. 

“What—” He glanced around. “Oh God, Summer, I took a shower to cool off from the fever and I must’ve gotten turned around, and I was so _tired_ —”

“Just—” She could imagine locking the door, pulling the towel away, taking him into her mouth—“Put some damn clothes on and get back to your side! Jesus!” He stood up, and she shoved him towards his room.

“Please don’t tell Raven.”

“Why would I tell her about this!?” She pushed him through the door, and locked it behind him.

Her heartbeat thumping in her ears, after a moment she registered the gentle patter of water coming from the bathroom. Qrow must’ve started showering after Taiyang finished. She knocked on the door.

“Yes?” Qrow called.

“How do you feel?” Summer asked, hating the sticky wetness between her legs.

“Better. I just got in here—Taiyang said the water made his fever cool off. I’m going to soak for a while too.”

“Yeah. There’s dinner for you when you’re done,” She wanted to get that feeling out. “But take your time, okay?”

“I will. Thank you.”

Ignoring a quick pang of guilt, Summer knew she had enough time to do what she wanted. It wouldn’t take long. She changed into pajamas, got under the covers of her bed, and slipped a hand into her panties. She replayed the scene with Taiyang again, and let herself fantasize, her face pressed into the sheets, catching traces of his scent. The need felt mightier this time than any other. It happened more often these days; a look or a loaded phrase would get her so hot, and she couldn’t concentrate until she took the time to get those feelings out. She rubbed against her whole hand and pushed her fingers deep within herself, but it only increased her lust.

The process was unbearable. She became wet so quickly, but getting off took forever, and she had limited privacy and had to move fast. As she touched herself, she imagined how good it would be for Taiyang to slap her ass and clench at her breasts, how much she would like for him to—and without meaning to, she thought of Qrow as well; she suddenly imagined the two of them, together, taking turns pleasuring her. It startled her for a moment, but she didn’t want to stop either—the images were fast and irresistible.

She imagined how Qrow’s hot tongue would slip soft as velvet over her aching clitoris, and how she would bury her hands in his stiff black hair. He would push two fingers into her mouth when he penetrated her, cock stiff and pulsing, fucking her with long, quick strokes, groaning roughly when he came inside of her, his hard rut extinguished. Now she saw her leg up high on Taiyang’s shoulder, his lips pressed wet against the side of her ankle as he thrust, Qrow’s hands on her breasts, twisting each nipple, giving her deep, soft kisses; Taiyang would empty himself into her, the two men’s seed mixing within, and the two of them would take more turns—Taiyang would sling an arm across her stomach, one of her wrists tight in his grip, his erection stiff against her ass, his mouth trailing a wet line down her shoulder, and Qrow would take her so slow and hard from the front, so thick she would want to come right then, his hands tight around her hips, his tongue entwined with hers—they would trade again and kiss her, fuck her, come inside her mouth, her ass, her slick cunt—oh God, she was so close, she wanted both of them, she wanted—she wanted—an orgasm rolled through her in a wave, and she moaned into her pillow with each shuddering clench around her fingers. The force of it made her weak, her body trembling and frail like glass. 

And then it was over. She gulped air, her tongue feeling thick in her mouth.

That was the first time Qrow had appeared in her fantasies. She’d came so quickly, thinking of him.

A skein of guilt molded itself around her. Summer couldn’t even bear to do more than glance at her fingers and feel shame worming its way into her heart. She loved Taiyang. She had always loved Taiyang. To fantasize about someone else, to fantasize about Qrow, who had always been kind and quiet and trusting…It was wrong. Very wrong. It was wrong to think of him that way when she loved him as a brother and a friend, to use him like he was some kind of tool she could bring out at will for her pleasure to spice things up. And it was wrong to include him in her little scenarios when Taiyang should’ve been enough—it was selfish of her. It made her head hurt, and her heart ache. She dozed off, woken only by the noise of the bathroom door opening and closing. 

Qrow had dried off enough to pull on his boxers, but beads of water still clung to his skin in other places, untouched by the towel he held to his chest. He stumbled to the counter, his occasional coughs sounding rough and compacted in his throat, and ate a few spoonfuls of stew. He looked as bad as he had been this morning, his eyes dim and fuzzy, his skin humid with fever and sweat. Even his hair had wilted, and his usual graceful presence was nullified by his sickened clumsiness. He put down his spoon, pulled on a t-shirt, and began to eat again. By the time he had finished, the sweat had darkened patches under his arms and at the small of his back.

“Take it off,” Summer said, the double meaning and her recent fantasy triggering a twist of discomfort. “You’re getting too hot, and I don’t care if you don’t have a shirt.”

He nodded, took off the garment, and got under his covers. Summer got up and brushed her teeth, and an hour later when he started to shake, she got the bucket and put it next to the bed, rubbing his back when he had to vomit. She gave him water to rinse his mouth and pressed a cold washcloth to his neck and forehead.

“I’m glad I’m not contagious anymore. I could get used to this.” He told her. She smiled.

“With a fever this high, I doubt you’ll remember.”

“I could never forget you.”

A blush rose high in her cheekbones. _Don’t,_ she thought.

“You’re delirious,” she said, but he took her free hand and brought it to his cheek. He closed his eyes and sank into her touch. He pressed a soft kiss to the palm, and another to the inside of her wrist. She felt delighted and betrayed.

 _He’s like a brother to me,_ she thought.

“I love you,” Qrow mumbled, “I’ve been wanting to say it for a long time, but... Don’t let the fever make me forget that I told you.”

But a few days later, when he had recovered from his illness, he had forgotten. And because he fell asleep after telling her, he didn’t remember how, in spite of her guilt, Summer had kissed him on the mouth afterwards, or how she had slept next to him in his bed that night, despite his boiling temperature. And he wasn’t aware of how such a small statement kept her up at night sometimes, long after it had been spoken, frantically trying to understand how she should feel about it.


	9. Chapter 9

The move to Patch was colder than he thought it would be, and Qrow had never been happier for his cloak than that first day Team TRQS (could they still call themselves that after graduation?) took a ferry there. The sky was overcast, and the ship was one of the old hydrofoil models, from before fusion engines took off; if he looked closely, he could make out the sharp edges of the hull slicing through the dull blue-gray water. The spray from the boat misted his face as he stood by the railing, and he couldn’t help but shiver. Taiyang walked up next to him, passing him a steaming cup of black coffee. He took it, and when he drank it scorched his mouth.

“Damn beautiful view, isn’t it?” Taiyang said.

“It is.” The ocean and sky matched tones, forming an endless reflection of each other. “Where’s your other half?” 

“Morning sickness. Summer’s holding her hair back over a toilet somewhere below.” He shook his head. “I don’t know how women do what they do.”

“They’re much stronger than you might think.”

“That they are.”

They sipped their coffee in silence, pointing out the occasional whale or dark shape under the water. Qrow noticed a worry line etching itself into Taiyang’s forehead, but he also took note of the new smile lines, faint but present, radiating from the corners of his eyes. His leader gulped the last of his coffee, and set the cup on the deck. He perched a foot on the lowest rung of the railing, and leaned out.

“Qrow, it means a lot to us that you’re moving to the same place we are. Both you and Summer, it’s more than we could’ve hoped.”

“We want what’s best for you both, and a new baby’s more stressful if you don’t have a support system. Besides, they had openings for Hunters anyway.”

“I know, I know, but I still wanted to thank you two. With any luck, Signal will open a teaching position up for Raven as well—she’ll miss the fighting, but time off with a child will do her good. She takes too many risks.”

“Look,” Qrow pointed, “Another whale.” The dark swell brushed by the ferry, rocking it as it touched. Taiyang’s brows shot up in surprise.

“That one’s much bigger than the others. Must be a mature one.”

“Hundreds of years old, probably. Taiyang, Raven gets wanderlust from time to time, and she loves to fight, but she’ll be a good mother. She loves you.”

“Yes, she does. God knows she’d have to to want to have a child with me. Especially after…well, after Adam.”

“She told you about that?” Qrow couldn’t believe it. His friend shrugged.

“When she thought she might be pregnant, she wanted me to know. It doesn’t bother me; it’s a tough decision for anyone to make, especially knowing how the Faunus are treated. And it must’ve been hard for her to have to make that decision at such a young age.”

“It was.” He stared at the whale’s shadow in the water. Strange, how it seemed to circle the ship as they traveled; the hydrofoil’s sharp prow would normally be persuasive against coming too close.

“Do you want children someday, Qrow?”

A vision flashed into his mind: three children, all with their mother’s pretty brown hair and their father’s dark eyes, some short like her, some lanky like him. They would climb into his lap to read, curious like she is, and they would fall asleep in his arms. He pushed the daydream away.

“I can’t see that happening.”

“Buck up, Branwen. You’re only twenty-one, there’s plenty of time to find a woman who’s crazy about you.”

He chose to remain silent at that. The ferry rocked again, much harder this time. Both men grabbed onto the railing. Taiyang frowned as he looked down into the water; the shadow was nowhere to be seen.

“I don’t think that’s a whale,” He said, pulling Xing Dao and Yue Dao from their sheaths behind his waist. Qrow’s scythe unfolded in his hand, its sharp point burying itself in the deck planks. He cocked the rifle bolt back. Taiyang scanned the water.  
“Wait for it to pass again,” He instructed. “Fire a shot near its head—the vibration might disorient it.”

The shadow slammed into the boat, and only Qrow’s grip on his anchored weapon kept him steady. He fired two shots near the tapered head of the beast, and it turned sharply from the bullets zipping through the water. It circled back again. It had to be a Grimm. 

“We have to drive it further from the hull!” He shouted.

Taiyang sent off great swirls of Dust into the ocean, the seeds of glaciers sprouting in long lines, and in response the Grimm peeled away from its parallel course, forced to take a longer route to its prey. The magic spent from his weapons, he dropped the crystals out of each pommel and snapped new ones into place from his bandolier. He whipped his head around, searching for something, and ran to a nearby life preserver case. He smashed the glass and slid the preserver around his middle. He tossed the end of the rope to Qrow.

“Tie this down, fast!”

“Are you crazy?!”

“I need to get down to water level and freeze ice spikes onto the hull—it’ll be like an upside-down sea urchin, there’s no way a Grimm that big would risk running into us again.”

Qrow knotted the rope with steady hands. Taiyang stripped off his bulky leather jacket, his aura flared to absorb the breathtaking chill of the water. As soon as the line was secured, he leapt from the railing, and Qrow kept a close eye on the Grimm’s shadow coming closer and closer. He fired off a few shots to drive it away. Suddenly, Summer was next to him, Thorn tucked hard against her shoulder as she released a burst of machine gun fire.

“Of course there’s a Grimm!” She shouted, and he couldn’t contain his dour smile. “Of course!”

A crackle of ice sounded from the depths of the ship, and the rope quivered twice. They both snatched at it and began to haul their teammate up, straining with the effort. Qrow looked over the railing at Taiyang, soaked and violently trembling from the cold, but alive and well. The Grimm passed nearby a few times, but it appeared that Taiyang’s plan had worked; it swam deeper under the surface until he could no longer see its shadow. 

When they yanked him over the railing, Taiyang’s teeth chattered in a broken melody. Qrow unhooked his cloak and threw it over his shoulders, instructing Summer to do the same. Raven stumbled over to them, a hand on her swollen stomach. She grimaced from her nausea, but there was still ferocity in her eyes. She slapped her husband’s chest.

“Goddamn it, Xiao Long! Are you out of your mind!?” She yelled. He shivered.

“I’m fine, love. It worked.”

“You can’t go jumping off of boats and risk becoming a snack for monsters! You have a family to think about!”

“Sweetie—” She pulled him into a furious hug and hit his back with a closed fist.

“Goddamn it, Taiyang, you could’ve killed me with worry. You don’t have to be the hero all the time.” He whispered something into her ear, then pressed his mouth to her dark hair.

Qrow snuck a peek at his partner from the corner of his eye. Summer stared at the couple for a moment, her mouth a hermetic line, she caught Qrow’s gaze, and then—could that be a blush? No, a trick of the light, surely—she turned away.


	10. Chapter 10

When the Xiao Longs settled down, their house needed a lot of work. It was a rustic little cottage halfway between the town and the sea, crouched within the edge of the forest deep enough that you couldn’t see it from the road. When she saw it for the first time, Summer had difficulty picturing either of her teammates living there—it didn’t have the sleek modernity Raven loved or the simple farmyard sprawl of Taiyang’s childhood home in Vacuo. It wasn’t too small, but it was in bad shape. The roof had to be patched in places, and the floors refinished. It took several weeks to get everything done, and it drove Raven crazy to sit on the sidelines as her team renovated the house, but when it was finished, it was _fantastic_. And more importantly, the Xiao Longs were all settled in by the time Taiyang’s first semester at Signal started.

Taiyang was as excellent of a teacher as he had been a team leader. He was popular on campus, and living on Patch was much cheaper than in Vale, so money was never an issue. The last month of Raven’s pregnancy passed and when their daughter came into the world, even Summer thought the world stopped for a moment when she first saw her. Of course two beautiful parents would have a beautiful baby. In the hospital room, Raven cradled the baby girl against her breast, and looked the happiest she had ever been, bright tears of joy in her eyes. Qrow squeezed Summer’s hand, and led her out of the room.

“She needs a little privacy,” He said.

When Raven disappeared a month later, none of them understood. The night before she vanished, she had called Qrow late at night, but all she said was that her daughter made her feel a hole in her heart that she hadn’t felt in a long time, and she needed to fix it. Summer didn’t know what that meant, and Qrow said he had an idea, but there was no way to know for sure. Raven said she would return in a week, but she never came back. 

It devastated Taiyang. Yang didn’t understand where her mother had gone, and no matter who held her, she cried and cried and cried, wails so piercing Summer could hear them outside the cottage when she visited. It was terrible for several weeks, but as the three remaining members of Team TRQS stayed together in that house, the baby learned to live without her mother. The days dragged on, and Summer and Qrow spent less time at the cottage and more time at their own apartment in town, busy with Grimm hunting and criminal investigations. They heard little from their remaining teammate, unless Summer visited the house, but she understood that. Raising a child was hard, and harder if you had to do it alone. Time passed, and somehow things held together.

During the first year of her life, Yang looked just like her father; soft violet eyes, bright golden hair, and a big grin to match her sunny personality. She looked more like her mother as a toddler now, curls and cowlicks sneaking into her locks and a certain delight in challenging her dad, like today.

“Yang, why are you eating that?”

Taiyang sat down on the floor across from his daughter at the coffee table, confused at the large orange blob of play-doh erupting from her pursed lips. Her cheeks ballooned out, and she brought her palms to them, a glint of daring glimmering in her eyes. Her father hesitated.

“No,” He started, and Yang smashed her hands forward, plopping the play-doh out of her mouth and into a loose, wet pile on the coffee table. She giggled, smearing it over the wood with her fingers, pushing it deep into the minute cracks and crevices. He sighed, leaning his chin into his hand.

“Good job, sweetheart. I’m glad you’re having fun.”

Summer went into the kitchen and grabbed a washcloth from the cabinet. She ran it under hot water and wrung it out, then tossed it onto the table. Taiyang pinched the bridge of his nose, his eyes weary.

“Thank you, Summer.”

“Of course.” She said, and went back to the sink.

“You really don’t have to do those dishes, I was going to get to them later this afternoon.”

“It doesn’t bother me. Besides, Destructor needs her Daddy.” She said, and Yang grinned, her teeth stained with orange.

Doing dishes didn’t concern Summer, but the mold on those dishes did. So did the piles of unwashed laundry, the overgrown grass in the yard, and the dark circles under Taiyang’s eyes. Yang was always clean, well-dressed, and smiling, but her father was anything but. Ever since Raven left, he gave off the impression of a man drowning in slow motion—he continued to teach and take care of his daughter, but he was fading with every passing day. Even his skin looked brittle, a breath away from shattering. He wiped down the coffee table and let Yang sit in his lap, but when he looked up at the ceiling Summer could feel the chill of his aura across the room.

“Taiyang, how about I cook for you tonight? You could use a break.” She said. 

He squeezed his daughter tight.

“That would be lovely.” He replied.

Taiyang slept through dinner. Summer watched Yang grab tiny fistfuls of chopped spaghetti and sauce, wiping down the girl’s chin every few bites. 

“Good girl,” She smiled, “You finished it. You’re going to be big and strong just like your daddy, aren’t you?” Yang smacked her lips and smiled. 

Bath time was easy, warm water and suds lulling the girl into quietness and relaxation, and Yang was in her little bed in no time at all. She fell asleep before Summer had turned to the fourth page of her picture book, snuggled up to Summer’s elbow as she leaned on the mattress. Gently, Summer extracted her arm from the sleeping child’s grasp and pulled the blanket up around her shoulders. She smoothed a hand over the little golden tresses, and turned out the light. Taiyang woke up as Summer folded clothes in the laundry room.

“You’re a better mother to that child than my wife ever was.” He said from the doorway.

“Yang is a sweet girl,” Summer replied. “She’s easy to take care of.” 

He swept his gaze around the room, and Summer almost felt embarrassed at the shirts she had ironed with precision hanging on the rack and the dress pants folded into neat squares. She rolled a pair of socks together and set them on the dryer.

“And you take care of me, too.” He said.

“I couldn’t leave you like this.” Her heart clenched. “I…couldn’t leave you alone, period.” 

She hadn’t planned on saying it. His hand touched her shoulder, but she used the opening to pull herself against him. Her arm curled around his middle, and it shocked her how thin his shoulders seemed, how frail his body had become—she hadn’t realized just how much he had been neglecting himself. He looked down at her, uncertain.

“Summer…?”

“I’m right here for you, Taiyang. I’ve always been here.” 

She saw the path she had wanted for so long open before her. She cradled his face in both hands, and kissed him. It was perfect, like she had always hoped. Her first love, this drowning man, kissed her like she was his life raft, and she was. When they parted, she asked, “Was that alright?” He wove his fingers through her hair. He had such strong, soft hands.

“As long as you didn’t do it because you feel sorry for me.”

“No, never. I’ve wanted to kiss you from the first day we walked in the woods.”

“That long?” He murmured, surprised, and kissed her again.

They kissed until they grew too warm for clothes, and in the dark bedroom down the hall she laid him down and drove away his dark thoughts with the warm, soft comfort of her body until he fell asleep, exhausted from the pleasure he had forgotten after so much time. After, he pulled her close, and before she fell asleep her mind flickered with unexpected longing _(Qrow, gentle, sweet Qrow)_ before it fell into blackness.


	11. Chapter 11

_“You don’t think I should.”_

_“Of course I don’t.”_

_“He’s hurting, Qrow.”_

_“All the more reason to turn down his proposal. You’ve been together for six months now, you maintain the home, you stay with Yang when he’s lecturing—”_

_“Exactly! I’m already there all the time, and Yang has called me Mom since she started talking, so—”_

_“But he hasn’t had enough time, Summer. He’s been battling his depression since Raven left, not processing why she did it. He loves my sister.”_

_“He loves me, too.”_

_“I don’t doubt that. He loves you very much, but I don’t think he’s moved on yet.”_

_“That’s okay, I’ll be patient.”_

_“It’s just so soon…”_

_“I’ve been waiting so long for him to want me, Qrow. Please, try to be happy for me.”_

_“I am! It’s…” He paused. “I just worry about you. Are you sure it’s what you want?”_

_“…Yes.”_

_“Then…be with him. I…I don’t approve, but you deserve the chance to be happy.”_

_“Thank you.”_

Qrow’s eyes snapped open. He hadn’t dreamed about that day in a long time. He flipped the sheets off of him and let cool morning air from his open window roll over his naked body. He glanced at his scroll – he slept in later than he planned.

Run first, then breakfast. A long shower with scalding water. He read a little, watched the trees wave in the breeze, and felt a sense of wasting time but had no productive ideas to drive that sense away. Even his thoughts felt choppy or too long, never the right length for his brain. The hours ran together when he wasn’t at work or with Summer. Being partners for so long had messed with his sense of time; hours that used to fly by when he was alone crawled now, but the day felt unsatisfying at the onset of twilight. He put his book down on the kitchen table, pulled on his cloak, and began to walk down the road to the Xiao Long’s.

He wanted to take Yang to the park today. It was Summer’s day off too, but she needed a break. Her and Taiyang hadn’t had any real time to themselves this week, a hunt on the other end of the island and mid-terms eating up their schedules, and Qrow could give her a rest.

It was about all he was good for outside of work, anyway.

He may have given up hope of ever being with her, but Patch didn’t have many other women that could tolerate him. Blind dates with co-workers and online strangers inevitably ended up the same way, with the conversation petering out forty-five minutes in, just in time for dessert to be finished, and then an awkward, silent walk to vehicles and stilted goodbyes. He hiked his cloak up higher on his shoulders—the day was warming up fast. 

An engine roared from down the road, and from the sound Qrow knew it was Taiyang. A few seconds later, Taiyang’s big Kabasaki motorcycle screeched to a stop next to him and kicked up a massive dust cloud. Qrow coughed and covered his mouth; Taiyang pulled off his silver aviators and helmet, his hair slicked down with sweat.

“Hey, Qrow! What’re you up to today?”

“Coming over to visit you. I thought I’d look after Yang so you and Summer could spend some time together.”

“I wish.” He groaned. “Any other day I’d take you up on that, but I have to go into Signal and catch up on grading. I can’t get anything done with Yang pulling on my sleeve all the time, and it doesn’t matter how much I wrestle with her, she never gets tired.”

“She takes after you.”

“God, my poor parents. I can’t imagine.” He clucked. “Want me to give you a ride back to the house?”

“No, you go on ahead. It’s not far.”

“Suit yourself.” He replaced his helmet and glasses, revving the accelerator. “Later.”

The house was as clean as he expected: dishes dried on the rack in the kitchen, the floors swept, beds made, garbage sacked up by the road for removal, a world of difference compared to when Taiyang lived alone with his daughter. That wasn’t surprising. Summer lived through rotation after rotation of Hunt/Care/Clean every day, but she never got tired of it. She liked to keep busy.

When he walked into the cottage she was busy coloring with Yang. His niece made giant red circles on her piece of paper and Summer added bright yellow stars and blue stripes to it, a headache of color. She flashed him a tired smile.

“Good morning.” She nudged her daughter. “Look who’s here!”

“Kwhoa!” Yang cried in delight. She leapt from her chair and barreled into him, hugging his knees. He pecked the top of her head.

“Didn’t expect you to be here today.” Summer said.

“I thought I’d give you and your husband some time together, but I guess that’s not going to happen.” She sighed, and got up to pour herself another cup of coffee.

“We all do our best, don’t we?” She asked.

“Yang, do you want to go play in the woods? I think Mommy wants to take a shower.”

“Yeah!”

“You’re a godsend, Qrow.”

“I try. Let’s go!” He picked Yang up and set her on his shoulders, and they off they went.

Yang had a lot of her birth mother in her. She liked running fast and jumping off of (relatively) high places. They played high-five games, her little loose fists smacking his open palms as she shrieked with excitement. She liked her uncle to pick her up and swing her around, toss her into the air even, and dip her fast like an airplane. She tugged on his hair and he propped her up on his feet to do silly walks the way his father always did for him, and when she smiled, he saw some of his sister in her. In a way, being with Yang was a way of keeping Raven present.

They stayed out in the forest for an hour. After they got into the house Yang abandoned him to play with her blocks, and he sat down next to Summer on the sofa as she began to sand down Thorn in the living room. 

“You are allowed to do nothing every so often, you know.” He said.

“No rest for the wicked.” She replied. He scoffed at that. “Taiyang never takes a break, and neither do I.”

“To be fair, Taiyang slays papers and the dreams of lazy students, not Grimm.”

“He also doesn’t spend the night counting your snores during patrol on the weekends, but to each his own. Pass me the 150.”

Qrow attempted to act offended but a smile broke loose anyway. He picked up the coarse square of sandpaper on the coffee table and passed it to her. She buffed away the deep nicks striping the blade’s edge. He couldn’t imagine how many Grimm bones that weapon had chopped through over the years. Hundreds. Probably thousands. 

“I heard you blew another date.” She said.

“I did not _blow_ my date. We didn’t have much in common, that’s all.” He muttered under his breath. “Taiyang, you asshole.”

“He didn’t think you’d mind if I knew.”

“I don’t mind that you know, I’m annoyed that the two of you seem to think I’m some kind of project to work on.”

“Is that what it sounds like?” She asked, finishing a long stroke of sandpaper against steel. She picked up a small square of 220 grit and began to polish.

“Yes, that’s what it seems like. Now can we please change the subject?”

“Sorry.”

“It’s fine, Summer, but I don’t want to talk about it.”

They sat without speaking for a few moments, listening to the loud whirring song of cicadas coming in through the window. Summer looked over to him, a hint of curiosity echoing in her gray eyes.

“Have you ever been in love, Qrow?”

“Of course.” He said, without thinking.

“Really!? With who?”

_You._

“An old friend.”

“Come on, that could be anyone! Who is it?”

“Don’t worry about it.”

“Why have I not heard about this before?”

“Why would I want you to know?”

“Because we’re practically brother and sister!” She soaked a rag in oil and ran it along the spearhead. “We’ve been friends for six years. I can practically read your mind.”

“But you don’t know who I’m talking about.” 

“No, because you’ve never mentioned it before.”

“But I thought you could read my mind.”

She tossed the rag into his face, a sly grin pulling at the corner of her mouth.

“Don’t get smart with me,” She said. “I’ll kick your ass.”

“Try it,” He dared. 

He didn’t remember how quickly she had taken Raven down in the training room so many years ago until she slapped his stomach with the speed and precision of a whip. He snatched the pillow next to him and bludgeoned her head with it, earning an amusing squeak of surprise from Summer as her hands flew to her face. He leaned over and squashed himself against the pillow with his chest, his limbs dead weight, driving her into the sofa on her back. He made a burbling noise, like when he would pretend to be a blob and slide out of Yang’s bed onto the floor to make her laugh. Summer finally cleared the pillow away and pushed up the bottom of his chin with her palm. 

“You’re not smothering me!” She laughed. 

She squeezed her knee between them, maneuvering her foot flat against his chest, her other arm braced across his sternum. She pushed, and he pushed against her, and neither of them had power over the other; Qrow, drunk on laughter, finally brought his hand to her ankle and pulled her foot away from its purchase, wobbling off-balance. He reached out, his free palm pressed against the back of Summer’s thigh, her skirt riding high into the valley between her leg and hip. He smiled at her for a few frozen seconds. And then he stopped.

Summer stared at him, surprised and if he didn’t know better, alarmed. She was flushed all the way down to her chest, her breathing suddenly heavy under the thin camisole she wore. Her nipples peaked stiffly through the fabric, her mouth parted in a soft curve. Qrow glanced down and saw that his pelvis had settled tight between her legs. 

Oh.

_Oh._

They were closer than he had first thought. Even now, their faces were only a few inches apart. He brushed his thumb against the firm underside of her thigh, and she shivered. A throb of heat pulsed to his groin; when he shifted against her, he felt an echo of that warmth radiate outwards from Summer to answer his own. This didn’t feel real anymore; it felt like he was sleeping, like he was in one of those dreams he had been having for so long.

“Can I tell you a secret?” She whispered.

“Anything.” 

It didn’t feel real. His other hand found hers up high on the sofa, and when he pinned it slowly by the wrist, Summer’s breath hitched. He wondered if she could feel the rapidly-growing stiffness of his erection between her legs. He leaned in, and she tilted her mouth up to meet his, so close if she spoke he would be able to feel the shape of her words.

A loud crash sounded from the next room. Yang shrieked in excitement, and the spell was broken. Qrow blinked, and they separated from each other as quickly as they had joined. Summer sat up, dazed, her expression flushed and uncertain. 

“I…uh…” She didn’t know what to say.

“Fell, Mommy!” Her daughter called from the next room. Summer put a shaky hand on Qrow’s shoulder. Her touch was light. Tentative.

“I should—probably—” He started.

“Yeah.”

Silence hung thick in the air. She read the concern on his face.

“Come back later tonight.” She said. “We’ll figure this out together.”

She got up from the sofa, and walked into the other room.

“Yang, what are you up to in here?”


	12. Chapter 12

Taiyang’s office at Signal was cluttered with stacks of documents splayed out over the tile. When Summer visited him that afternoon, he was sitting in the center of the floor, projects and papers laid out like a whirlpool around him, a clipboard perched on his lap and his face furrowed in concentration. Summer knocked and peeked her head in, and he flashed her a tired, brilliant smile.

“Hello, sweetheart. What are you doing here?”

“I wanted to see you.”

“Where’s Yang?”

“She’s in Professor Rennet’s office.”

“Looking at her bone collection again?” 

“Yeah.”

She locked the office door, not wanting to be disturbed. This was going to be a tough conversation, and she didn’t want any unexpected visitors. Taiyang unfolded himself from his seat and stood up, popping his neck. Summer winced comically at the sound, and in two steps her husband pulled her into a soft embrace. He kissed her temple.

“I missed you today,” He said.

“I missed you, too.” 

Taiyang smelled like sandalwood and warm spices. Summer breathed deeply and his scent calmed her anxiety, as it always did. She looped her arms around his neck, and pressed a kiss to his mouth. It was a kiss more suited to their bedroom at night than this place and time; Taiyang was caught off-guard by it, but soon his breathing deepened and he wrapped his big hands around her waist. He broke off from her, eyes dark with sudden desire.

“I like where this is going.” He said, but then he saw the redness blooming in her cheeks, the desperate line of her mouth. “What’s wrong?” He asked, and kissed her forehead. Taiyang was so kind. 

Summer had to tell him about Qrow and this morning, and the stress was killing her. There’s no easy way to say that you want to sleep with someone who’s not your spouse. This might be the last time Taiyang would want to hold her; the thought hurt her heart, twisting it into a tight knot she wasn’t sure could ever come undone. She clung to him, wanting another shimmer of comfort to pass between their bodies.

“I don’t even know how to say it.” She said. He folded his thick forearms across the small of her back and waited. 

“If Raven came back tomorrow, what would happen between us?” She asked. He frowned.

“Do you think she’s still out there?”

“No—not really—but if she were, and if she came back, what would happen?”

“Well, Yang would probably scream because she would have no idea who was picking her up. Stranger danger.” 

“Taiyang, please.”

He brushed away errant dark bangs from her eyes. He paused, thinking hard.

“I imagine the three of us would have to have a discussion about what we wanted to happen.” He finally said.

“What do you mean?”

“Well,” He murmured, planting a firm kiss on her mouth. “I love you. And I don’t want to be apart from you.” His lips trailed across her cheek until they found the soft spot under her ear. “But I’d be lying if I said I didn’t still love Raven. I love her as much now as the day I married her.”

A searing hiss of jealousy swept through Summer’s bones, but it cooled when she felt his hands caress her shoulder blades. He teased the tip of his tongue along her neck, and she quivered under its soft heat. 

“The only thing that matches the happiness from then is what I have with you now. I guess what I’m trying to say is that I couldn’t give either of you up. We’d have to find a way to make it work.”

“Is that—” Summer’s heart flinched in excitement. Taiyang slipped a hand under the back of her skirt to squeeze at the soft flesh there. She was getting wet. “—Is that normal?” She finished.

“It is for me. It’s not like feelings can be turned off.” His other hand crept up to her face. He sank his fingers through her hair. “Are you worried about Qrow?” He asked, puzzled.

Her mouth dropped open. 

“What?”

“Are you worried about being in love with Qrow? Is that what this is about?”

“I—what are you saying?”

“Summer, it’s okay. I could see it back at Beacon. It doesn’t bother me.”

When she walked into this office, she thought she was going to cry because Taiyang would be angry at her. Now she felt like crying because he wasn’t making any damn sense. She placed both palms flat on his chest, squirming to create space between them, but he held her close. He covered her face in little kisses and shushed her objections.

“Summer, listen to me. You have a lot of love to give. I’m happy I have a piece of it, but I don’t own you. You’ve loved him for a long time, so tell him. Show him.” 

“But it seems so—so selfish, Taiyang! It can’t be the right thing to do.” She sniffed. “How could that possibly make sense?! How could you love two people at once? That can’t be possible!”

A dangerous glint shone in his eye. 

“Do you doubt me?” He asked. His voice dipped low at the question.

“I—”

“When Raven and I were at Beacon, you know how our relationship was.” His hands traveled to her chest now, to the short button-up shirt she had put on when she left the house. He undid the first button, exposing the smooth plane of skin below her clavicles. He laid a line of soft, open kisses from her shoulder to the hollow of her throat.

“You heard us make love through the wall. You heard how passionate we were; we couldn’t hold in the noise, no matter what we tried.”

Another button slipped through, and another, and another. She felt his hot breath ghost across her collarbone again, and flushed when he nipped the skin there gently. The last button came undone, and he peeled the blouse away like the loose rind of an orange, dropping it to the floor. 

“We loved each other so much we wanted a child together. And we had one.” 

He reached behind her and unhooked her brassiere. It joined the shirt on the ground. One of his hands sank beneath her waistband and began to ease the elastic down past her buttocks. He leaned his cheek against hers, and whispered in her ear.  
“And I want one with you too, because I love you.”

When her skirt landed with the rest of her clothes, Taiyang picked her up and set her down on his desk. Naked on the cold wood, she let him arch her legs up until her feet rested comfortably on the desk’s edge. He almost ripped his shirt unbuttoning it, flinging it to the side of the room. As he fumbled with his belt, Summer saw the thick curve of his arousal straining against the fabric of his slacks. Then, he pulled his pants down, and she ached at the sight of him. She wanted him inside of her, wanted it more than that first night they slept together, or any night since then. Taiyang ran two fingers up the slick valley of her sex, and brought them to his mouth. He groaned at the taste of her. He took his cock in hand and touched the tip into her; she moaned, loving and hating his teasing. He hitched her legs up around his hips.

“Let me make myself perfectly clear,” He said, and pushed in another inch. He trapped one of Summer’s nipples between his fingers and pinched it just enough to make her gasp.

“I love you, Summer Rose.” He advanced another inch inside her. “I love you desperately.” Another inch. She could barely stand it. He felt so filling there. “I want to come inside you. I want you to know that you’re mine. You’re everything to me.”

“Please,” She moaned. “Deeper.”

He sank into her so hard it took her breath away. She cried out, and he settled himself with one last pulse of motion, then pulled away until only the tip of him still remained linked with her. He began to advance again, slow and inexorable. Summer couldn’t take it. She needed him faster, and harder, and he knew it.

“Do you love me?” He asked.

“Yes, Taiyang. Always.” He rewarded her with another fast thrust. He withdrew again, taking her chin in one hand.

“I love you, and you love me.” He said. “And I love Raven, and you love Qrow, and there’s nothing wrong with that.” 

She felt a flush of shame, but he held her gaze, clear lavender eyes focused and hungry. Taiyang began to pump his hips in a medium, steady rhythm. In the six months they’d been married, Summer had learned how skilled he was at lovemaking; she knew he could hold her along a knife’s edge of pleasure until she begged him for release. After a minute she could already feel the low tension of an orgasm building in her. He gave her a long, wet kiss. 

“Don’t be afraid, Summer. I’m not.”

Taiyang began to fuck her hard and fast, like she needed. Summer cried out, embarrassed at her noise, nervous they would hear across the hall, but she couldn’t contain her pleasure. He stretched it out just long enough to drive her crazy, kept her on the brink of an orgasm for what seemed like an eternity. 

“Say his name, Summer.” He grunted. 

He narrowed his eyes at her unsure expression. He thrust into her harder. She felt her orgasm begin, just needing a touch of stimulation to flare into full motion. She fought the image of Qrow in her husband’s place. At her peak, when he sensed she was about to let go, Taiyang found the endurance to pick up his speed and force even more. 

“Say it.”

It tipped her over the edge. It was like the fantasy she had so many years ago—Taiyang and Qrow existed in the same space, loving her, fucking her, filling her with the hot spill of their seed. For a moment she imagined Qrow inside of her, and it set her off. Her climax rippled through her pelvis, squeezing tight around her husband.

“Qrow,” She moaned, all guilt forgotten. “Qrow!”

The orgasm made her toes curl and she felt the firm quiver of Taiyang’s cock as he emptied himself inside her after a few hard pumps. They stayed connected, and for a few moments they sat there, motionless, their irregular breathing the only sound. She kissed him, and he held her in a warm embrace.

“I love you, Summer. Now and forever. Nothing could change that.” She pressed her cheek onto his shoulder.

“Let me take Yang to the movies tonight. Take your time and be with Qrow.” He kissed her cheek. “Let him know how much you love him.”

Tears of joy pricked her eyes. She gave him one last kiss.

“Thank you, Taiyang.”


	13. Chapter 13

All day Qrow had fought the urge to rub out the passion that had overtaken him this morning. After Summer kicked him out he ran all the way back to town, six miles, and looked for any distraction he could to avoid fantasizing about what could have happened. He worked out, he went swimming, he cleaned his apartment for the first time in months, but eventually in the last afternoon he ended up in the shower, and that was when it all fell apart. 

He washed away the sweat and road dust from his second run of the day, and scrubbed his hair so roughly the scalp tingled. He should be exhausted, but he wasn’t. The weights hadn’t done it, the run hadn’t done it, the swimming hadn’t done it, and there was only one thing left to do. Qrow wrapped his tight fist around his penis and stroked himself hard and fast.

He had thought about Summer when he masturbated many, many times in the past. Even when he had lost his virginity a few weeks after she did at Beacon, he’d thought about her, wishing he could interchange his partner’s voice with the buxom older woman from the club that had ridden him to his first non-solo orgasm. Thinking of Summer never failed to get him off, but it also never failed to make him heart-sick after he finished, missing her. 

Things were different now. He grunted as he jerked into his palm under the water’s hot spray. He could still see her in his mind’s eye: the soft lips open, a fount to drink from, the bright pink of her blush spilling down her neck, the submissive flicker in her eye when he almost kissed her. 

She wanted him.

She wanted him like he wanted her.

She asked him to come back tonight.

After he came and let the water take it away, his passion cooled and confusion set in. Since when did Summer feel that way about him? He toweled himself dry and set about shaving for the second time that day. She had never acted that way around him before. And what about Taiyang? She loved him. He knew that as much as he was certain of his own feelings. When Summer sent a brief text to his Scroll ( _I told Taiyang._ ) he began to question if they could remain friends after this.

He ate a light meal even though he wasn’t hungry. He changed into new clothes and left his cloak hung on the hook by the front door. He walked to the Xiao Long’s, sunset tipping into twilight by the time he arrived, and was not prepared for Summer’s husband to greet him at the door, holding Yang’s hand.

“We’re going to the movies, aren’t we, love?” Taiyang asked Yang.

“Boo’s Crew 2!” She shouted, fists in the air. 

She leapt off the porch and sprinted to the garage, her blonde hair whipping in the breeze. Qrow and Taiyang locked eyes, and while Qrow had expected a punch to the face, he hadn’t expected his former team leader to give his shoulder a friendly clasp. 

“Summer told me everything,” He said. “I’m not angry with you.”

“You’re not?”

“No.” He shook his head. “We talked about it. It may come as a shock to you, but it doesn’t bother me. You’ve loved her for longer than I have, and I don’t doubt your sincerity. I trust both of you.” He squeezed Qrow’s shoulder.

“Yang and I will be gone for a few hours between the movie and what else I’ve got planned. Use that time well. Treasure her. You have so much to talk about.”

Taiyang didn’t say goodbye, just left Qrow standing in shock on the porch as he opened the garage door and drove away with Yang. When he entered the house Qrow took off his boots and found Summer reclining on the leather sofa in the den, her hands pressed tight against her stomach, as though to control her breathing. He rapped gently on the doorframe and she started, eyes wide but unafraid.

“You came back.” She whispered.

“I could never stay away from you.” He meant it to sound like a joke, but his voice was too serious. Summer’s eyes flickered.

“…Did you see Taiyang on the way out?” She asked.

“I did. He told me the two of us have a lot to talk about.”

“Yes.”

She stood and fixed an open button on her blouse. After asking if he wanted a drink (he didn’t) she poured herself a little shot from the bottle of whisky she kept on the bookshelf. She took a sip, grimaced, and downed the rest. Qrow watched her, unmoving.

“I’m not sure how to start this conversation,” He said. “But your husband encouraging me to sleep with you came out of left field.”

“No, it didn’t, actually. We had talked about it this afternoon—” Summer caught herself. “I told him about what happened today, and he had his own opinions.”

“And how did you feel about it?” He asked. She set the glass down on the bookshelf, and splayed her fingers across the books. She was silent for a long minute.

“I…I was happy.” She paused. “Do you remember when you had that really terrible flu at Beacon? Third year?”

Qrow had been in battles beside Summer many times, but she had never seemed this on edge. He breached the distance between them until he could put his hands on her shoulders; he hoped his touch would say that he was here for her, like always. Her body trembled, but she didn’t pull away.

“A little bit. Why?” 

He squeezed her shoulders and she relaxed a little, sensing security under his grasp. He dared to test this connection, running his hands slowly down her arms, noting how the exposed skin prickled into gooseflesh. Tension melted from her frame. After a moment’s hesitation, waiting for any sign telling him to stop, he circled his arms around her stomach and pulled her close. Her body telegraphed a slight hesitation, only a little bit, and her breathing hitched, but her fingers abandoned their spot on the books and touched his. Her head drooped to the side, and before his courage fled he touched his lips to the even, taut line of her neck—not as a kiss, just keeping them there, in contact—and her free hand reached back to tentatively card through his hair. 

This didn’t feel real. Summer had touched him many times over the years, with a good deal of care and tenderness, but not like this. She had never touched him with desire, not any that he could recognize. Their conversation lulled. Summer twisted his hair with her fingers so gently, but he could feel the heartbeat thrumming through the pulse-point under his kiss. It took several seconds to confirm that Summer’s warm body was indeed enfolded by his, that her fingers were indeed twining now through his own, that the tremor rippling against his chest indeed came from his partner, his love. He would happy to forget their current conversation if he could stay in this moment forever, but Summer continued.

“When you were sick, and I was taking care of you, you told me you loved me.”

“I did?”

“Don’t sound so surprised. You were delirious with fever. I was shocked when you told me, but…I was happy, too. You see, I…” She tightened her hold on his hand. “I was getting confused about our friendship. I loved Taiyang so much but couldn’t stop thinking about you—when you said you loved me, it made me glad, but I thought I couldn’t return your love the way you wanted. I thought Raven was right—that I was just using our friendship to satisfy what I couldn’t get from Taiyang. I didn’t think my love was pure like yours.”

“Summer, you are the most loving person I’ve ever met.”

“No,” She shook her head. “That’s you.”

She turned in his embrace, putting her warm hands against his jaw. Qrow’s palms settled down at her waist, secure. She didn’t look at his face; her silver gaze settled down somewhere on the edge of his left shoulder, flicking around the room nervously as she spoke.

“So this morning, I felt guilty about the way my body reacted. I went to talk to Taiyang about it, and…well, he told me it made sense. He’s in love with two people, and so am I.” She blushed hard at that.

Adrenaline pumped hard into Qrow’s veins.

“You love me?” He asked.

“Yes. For how long, I don’t know. Sometimes I think that I fell in love with you that first week at school, when I promised I’d be like your family. Maybe my heart knew that early, and my brain wasn’t in a place to process it, but it understands now. I don’t want to be your sister, or your friend.”

“What then?” He asked. Summer finally looked into his eyes, and what he saw in her view took his breath away. In her eyes was an abundance of affection and sweet, hopeful, desirous love.

“I want to be your wife, Qrow. Or your lover. Something. Anything. Is…is that strange?”

“No, it’s not strange at all.” He beamed at her.

She breathed a sigh of relief, and with that escaping breath she fell forward into his embrace, her ear against his chest, her arms resting around his neck. Qrow stooped to hold her tighter, savoring the clean scent of her hair. For a few moments all they did was stay there, linked around one another, breathing in unison as if they were not two people at all but one, each inseparable from the other. 

And weren’t they?

He moved back just enough to look down at her, to lift her chin with his fingers, and asked, “May I kiss you?”

She beat him to it. She raised herself on her toes and kissed him instead.

How long had he wondered what she would taste like? Qrow had thought about it that first month at Beacon, and ever since. Now that Summer’s warm lips were pressed against his, the kisses were so brilliant, so sweet, he could not register much besides the pressure and how soft her mouth was. They kissed and his world went white. He was in an animal state, only dimly aware of anything other than the sensation connecting through the two of their bodies. Her fingers brushed through his hair, setting every one of them on end. Her caresses were tender, though a hard edge of desire shone through with each passing moment. 

They kissed with a sense of control he felt evaporating by the millisecond: before he knew it, Summer had guided him to the sofa, pulling his shirt over his head, fumbling with the buttons on her blouse before she tore it open in frustration, letting it hang open to expose her black brassiere. He sank back into the sofa, and she straddled him, keeping him close, hot friction growing between their exposed bodies.

Though more of their skin was in contact now, it was no longer enough—a paradox of lust. Qrow pulled away the remains of Summer’s blouse, and she tore the bra away herself, flinging it across the room. He took one of her nipples into his mouth, and she groaned, her hands clasping around the back of his neck, bringing him closer. Qrow couldn’t keep up with all the places he wanted to touch—he teased her other nipple with his tongue, laid a line of soft kisses up her sternum until he reached her mouth again, pulled her hair just gently enough so she would arch her head back in the perfect angle to lick along the line of her neck, feeling the thrum of her moan echoing in her throat—and it still wasn’t enough. He wanted to touch her. Taste her.

“Here, Summer, take my place.”

She was delirious with passion, so at first she didn’t understand what he wanted. Qrow shifted her over onto the sofa, then swung around and got onto his knees on the floor. 

“What are you doing?” She asked, breathing hard.

“Let me show you.”

He shrugged her skirt down from her hips, and with a little help he pulled them clear. She smelled like sweat and sex; he hooked two fingers under the waistband of her panties, and removed those too, and his cock stiffened with each inhale. Qrow positioned Summer’s legs on his shoulders, let her lean back against the sofa, and kissed along her thighs until he could take her warm cunt into his mouth.

She was slick and hot, and when he tasted her she shuddered and tangled her fingers in his hair. He found the swollen bud of her clitoris and manipulated it with delicate pressure, stroking the rest of her sex with his fingers, sliding and teasing, his own erection hard as a pillar of teak. He reached down and undid his own pants, fumbling beneath his boxers to stroke himself, and licked her until she shook and pulled his head away. She unfolded herself and kissed him, sneaking her tongue between his lips, tasting herself in his mouth, and broke off just as quickly. She grabbed his head between her hands, their foreheads smashed together.

“I need you in a bed.” She said, and pulled him to his feet. 

She knelt and yanked his pants and boxers down. She huffed in pleasure as she looked at his stiff erection, and without warning opened her lips and sank his cock deep inside her mouth. Qrow felt a shivering lurch through his penis and almost came right then and there, but Summer withdrew just as quickly, rising to her feet and tugging his hand to follow her.

When they reached the bedroom they didn’t even bother to pull away the covers. Summer laid down and watched him with a burning hunger, her entire body flushed. Qrow paused.

“Shit,” He muttered.

“What?”

“I left my protection in my pants.” He turned to leave.

“No, I don’t want that.” She said.

“What?”

“I love you, and I want to feel you.”

“But—”

“I’m not afraid of anything, Qrow. I want every piece of you.”

“…Are you sure?”

“I’ve never been surer of anything in my life.”

He laid down next to her, and she rolled over onto his hips. She lifted herself, fitted the head of his penis against her, and took one of his hands. His cock throbbed against the cleft of her sex, and she knitted their fingers together, palms pressed tight. In one fast drop, she settled herself against him, and Qrow was overcome. Her heat and wetness, the strength of their two hands squeezing each other, the curve of her hip in his other palm, it was too much. Summer began to buck her hips gently, her breathing deep and slow despite the tremble in her voice.

“Oh,” She whispered. “Oh, this is what you feel like.”

Summer leaned forward and gave him a kiss, shifting herself in a gradually quickening rhythm along his shaft. Qrow lost himself in the heat of her tongue and the tight fit of her; they matched as though they were born to make love to one another. Qrow thought about that in between the quick, long strokes Summer used to pleasure him: if they had known how the other had felt, they would have done this so many years ago. Even if they had met as children, even if they had grown up with one another, he had no doubt they would have done this as soon as they were able. For one perverse moment, Qrow knew that even if they had been siblings by blood, and not just by choice, eventually they would have succumbed to this passion. Summer made love to him, and Qrow couldn’t help but feel like it was destiny.

She rode him, moaning, mouth hot against his neck, and in minutes a ring of pressure from within her squeezed firm around his cock. He drove his hips up, meeting her stroke with force for a few moments, and she cried out his name—she didn’t finish, but at her cry he felt a tightening in his scrotum and he came, trembling, inside her. He gasped, the power of his orgasm sucking air from his lungs, and tension drained out of him with every heartbeat. Summer collapsed on top of him, exchanging a few clammy kisses with him as they rested, only letting him pull out long afterwards. Then, she curled into his side like a cat, and he passed the minutes charting little constellations out of the freckles on her shoulder.

“I love you,” He whispered, and kissed her forehead. She smiled, even though her eyes were closed and she looked half-asleep. 

“I know.” She said. She brought a hand to his heart. “I’m sorry it took so long for me to hear you.”

“Are you cold?”

“Not yet,” Her palm slid down and settled on his groin. She fit his flaccid member between her fingers and smiled into his collarbone. “Not for long.”

Qrow chuckled, stole a kiss, and they began again.


	14. Chapter 14

There were many days and nights like their first together in the days to come. In many ways, though their relationship had changed, their lives were the same. Taiyang taught at Signal, Qrow and Summer hunted together and handled small criminal cases in the city, and the three of them took care of Yang. Other things were, of course, very different. 

Summer, Qrow, and Taiyang quickly learned how to take advantage of the new aspects of their unique partnership. Their relationship certainly made having sex easier; it wasn’t uncommon for Qrow to play with Yang in the woods so Taiyang and Summer could sleep together, and Taiyang often took the child to town so Summer and Qrow could be intimate. It was…strange how well it all worked. Qrow had wondered if Taiyang’s goodwill could last knowing that his wife was involved with both of them, but it did; in fact, he relished the fact.

“It’s a beautiful feeling, Qrow. When I see how happy you make her, it makes me happy too. And I think we love each other more than before, knowing we trust each other like that.”

That was true. Loving Qrow had only increased Summer’s passion for Taiyang as well. Whether she had sex with her husband or slept with her lover, Summer often wondered aloud how she had survived without this much desire in her life up to this point. They made love so often, and in about every way they could think of. She was insatiable, her body always eager to receive those she loved, and she insisted on taking every last bit of them, desperate for a child. It was no wonder she became pregnant so quickly. In fact, both men were amazed it hadn’t happened sooner. Still, they were happy all the same. The day Summer announced her pregnancy, Taiyang roared in excitement and swept Yang off her feet, whirling her around in joy.

“You’re going to have a little sister!” He howled, grinning like an idiot. 

“Or a brother,” Qrow murmured. 

Delighted tears gathered in his eyes. Summer held him, and when Yang wasn’t looking she kissed the tears from his cheeks. When Ruby came into the world, Qrow thought she was perfect. Summer said the baby reminded her of a canvas she couldn’t wait to paint. Later, when Ruby’s baby hair started growing in thick and black, Yang asked Qrow why they didn’t look very much alike, even though they were sisters.

“You’re half-sisters, Yang.” Summer cut in. “You share a father, but your mothers were different.”

It was necessary to say that, they thought. They couldn’t tell the truth in words that Yang would understand right now. When she was older, they promised themselves.

Qrow would not have traded those first few years with Ruby, his lover, his niece, and his friend for anything. They made a strange family, but a happy one. Then, just after Ruby’s third birthday, Summer went out on a mission alone. She never went on hunts without him, especially not ones so far away, but Ozpin had asked for her help especially and an injury to Qrow’s knee earlier that season left her little choice. After she kissed her husband goodbye, she took Qrow’s hand and held it over her heart.

“Don’t worry,” She said, kissing his knuckles. “Nothing could keep me away from you.” 

Weeks went by. Her check-in date came and went. Taiyang couldn’t sleep, and Qrow fell apart with worry—he searched for her, tracked her all the way to the dusty backwater towns in Mistral where she’d last been seen, but never found anything. He searched himself for six months, then hired professionals to keep at it. After a year, he closed the investigation.

Taiyang shut down—how cruel, to lose two loves to an early death in one lifetime. He kept at it as best he could, even secured a teaching position for Qrow at Signal the following school year, but he struggled to avoid sinking deeper into depression. Qrow dropped right along with him. One night, after the girls were in bed, the two men shared a bottle of whisky at the dinner table. Without speaking, drunk to the point of illness, both men cried in silence until they passed out. Qrow cracked his head on the floor when he fell out of his chair, but he didn’t care. The ache in his skull was nothing compared to the pain in his soul.

That night was the last night Taiyang and Qrow let themselves suffer openly. After that, they forced themselves to carry through it: they had two daughters, and the girls needed them. Yang had lost her mother again, and Ruby was inconsolable. Qrow moved into the cottage, and the two men struggled together to take care of their children until enough time had passed the pain began to slip away. It never vanished though, even as the years marched on.

Yang inherited Raven’s temper (the day she found her Semblance, she accidentally set the garage on fire) but she took more after Taiyang overall, with her passionate nature and goofy jokes. Ruby looked more like her mother; the little upturned nose was there, and the familiar smirk that graced her lips when she was being silly. Like Summer, she loved machines and hardware: she wanted to take Qrow’s scythe apart when she was eleven, and he let her build her own at twelve. Both girls were hard workers, friendly, and had good instincts. Ruby was especially driven—Yang’s stories about Hunters and Huntresses lit a fire for danger early in her. Summer would have been proud of both of them.

Sometimes, looking at Ruby was almost enough to bring Qrow to tears.

“I wish I knew what happened to her.”

Ruby sighed next him, Crescent Rose across her lap. They had been training for several hours, and the sun had faded into dusk. Ruby was a prodigy, just like Raven had been; she picked up fast on everything Qrow taught her. He wouldn’t be surprised if she graduated from Signal early. She tinkered with the bolt action on her rifle, silver eyes downcast, and he laid a hand on her shoulder. 

“Summer would’ve done anything to get back to you.” The girl nodded, but frowned all the same.

“What was she like, Uncle Qrow?”

_She was like the first sunrise you’ve ever seen, the one that would blind you with beauty if you could remember it. She was the safe harbor, the guiding star, the earth under your feet. She was an entire world unto herself._

“She was my heart.”

Qrow remembered that first day in the Emerald Forest, the day they were split into teams at Beacon. He was alone, and had just killed a pack of Beowolves in the brush. The last Grimm fell, he collapsed his weapon, and Summer strode out of the forest like a vision; she walked up to him, offered a handkerchief to wipe his face of sweat, and asked him if he would like to be her partner.

 _Of course,_ he had said, and she smiled, and it lit up his life.

“Are you okay?” Ruby asked.

“Yes.” He wiped his eyes. “Don’t worry about me. I just miss her.”

Cicadas whirred in the twilight. Across the clearing, in the tree line, deer moved into the black edge of the woods. Ruby set Crescent Rose aside. She hugged her knees to her chest and rested her head atop both bony kneecaps.

“Are you my father?” She whispered, curious and unsure. 

He pulled her close, kissed her hair, and took her hand. She squeezed back.

“You are a child of love, Ruby Rose.”

Qrow did not say more, and Ruby didn’t ask. They sat listening to the new crickets and hooting of night birds, holding each other, thinking of the woman they both missed terribly for their own reasons. When the mosquitoes starting biting they went inside to their own rooms, longing their only company, and looked forward to the next bittersweet day. Somehow, through no will of their own, they would continue.


End file.
